By Bob Katzen

The House gave initial approval to a proposal that would prohibit employers from obtaining the credit reports of existing or potential employees except in certain circumstances including hiring for a position that requires national security clearance; a position for which a person is required by federal or state law to obtain a consumer report; and some executive or managerial positions at a financial institution.

“Massachusetts has moved one step closer to ending employment credit check discrimination,” said former Rep. Josh Cutler (D-Duxbury), chair of the Committee on Workforce Development, who resigned from the House to become Gov. Maura Healey’s Undersecretary of Apprenticeship, Work-based Learning and Policy in the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. “I’m proud of the progress we’ve made towards eliminating needless barriers to employment for otherwise qualified employees and am confident my colleagues will see this bill through to the finish line.”

“Credit reports should not be a part of the hiring process,” said Chi Chi Wu, senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. “They don’t predict job performance they are riddled with errors, and the scores blatantly reflect racial inequities and injustices,”