Why do companies do credit checks on potential new employees?

[Chan790]

32. Interestingly, libraries are one of the few fields where I've been told they always run the reports.

Last edited Mon Sep 10, 2012, 11:11 AM - Edit history (1)

Also, many people don't know this...libraries are allowed to report excessive late fees and non-returned materials to credit-bureaus; I learned that when I lost a copy of Ulysses from the Philadelphia Free Library and took my time reporting it or paying for it because I was destitute and moving back into my parent's attic.

That ended up being a funny story, I called them irate when I saw it years after I paid them on my credit report and ended up having a long conversation about applying to their library-sciences graduate program because it's a free Masters of Library Science degree...you work in the library while going to their school for 3 years and agree to work for them for like 5 years post-graduation as a librarian. They take like 4 people a year.

The reason they run the reports at the library is actually exactly the reason you've cite though...most libraries have things like special collections, CD/DVD centers, rare book rooms, etc...people with bad credit are more likely to be people who do things because they need money like take home DVDs to make copies to sell (library copies are typically different than retail versions and are often traceable...the way the library usually determines who the pirate is is via borrowing records so untrustworthy staffers take them off-the-system to copy. If the library cannot determine who pirated the film, some jurisdictions allow them to be held liable for the fines and damages); steal computers, rare books or antiquities (from the special collections); "fix" people's lost-book records for bribes; also it's not uncommon for all staffers at a library to be a key-holder. So it might seem unfair but having bad credit is often a sign of irresponsibility...less so now than in the mid-90s when I lost Philly Free Library's copy of Ulysses.