Is it TRUE bankruptcy affects employment?

20 years ago, I worked at one company for 3 years; not a single sick day or vacation day. I started at minimum wage & stayed there; the owner was really cheap & ungrateful. I started faxing resumes. The owner's executive secretary (who was sleeping with the married owner & got big perks - new car, condo, jewelry, etc.) found out I was job hunting & she called me into her office & said, "Why are you looking for another job...aren't you happy here?" I told her; "You're a secretary; that's NONE of your business. Stick your nose back in your typewriter where it belongs. And everyone has a right to better themselves." (I almost told her, "Ya know, I'd tell you to mind your own business, but everyone here already knows your business; the world's oldest profession."

I was offered a better job & the owner was mad; he called me into his office & tried flattery to make me stay - he said, "You're the best employee we have." I said, "well, if my replacement is also good, you might pay him accordingly." He also gave me a check for unused vacation & sick time & said, "Please don't leave." I said, "Sorry, I gave my word at my new job."
 
I not only filed with the Labor Board & got back wages, plus damages, I also reported them to everyone I could think of. Within a year, they were out of business; not just because of me; they also ripped off customers & many people they owed money to. They were later charged criminally. Thieves never steal from just one person.

Good work @win231 ! đź’Ş
 

Win, I'm glad that you reported them. Many of us have worked for shady employers over the years and it's good to know that some got prosecuted and paid for their shenanigans.

I'd wager that every woman on this board dealt with some level of sexual harassment and/or discrimination.. I certainly came across plenty of it. When I reflect back on some of the nonsense that I had to put up with during the 70s and 80s it makes my blood boil.
 
Win, I'm glad that you reported them. Many of us have worked for shady employers over the years and it's good to know that some got prosecuted and paid for their shenanigans.

I'd wager that every woman on this board dealt with some level of sexual harassment and/or discrimination.. I certainly came across plenty of it. When I reflect back on some of the nonsense that I had to put up with during the 70s and 80s it makes my blood boil.

Not just women who deal with sexual harassment. At an aerospace plant I worked at for 3 years, my supervisor constantly pinched & tickled. I knew if I complained, I'd probably lose my job; she was also sleeping with the V.P. & got away with everything - coming in when she felt like it, 3-hour lunch breaks, chatting with her boyfriend on the phone for 2 hours.
 
Not just women who deal with sexual harassment. At an aerospace plant I worked at for 3 years, my supervisor constantly pinched & tickled. I knew if I complained, I'd probably lose my job; she was also sleeping with the V.P. & got away with everything - coming in when she felt like it, 3-hour lunch breaks, chatting with her boyfriend on the phone for 2 hours.
This is true... my husband works in an industry where there's a lot of Well known and not so famous Gay men, and ever since he was a lad he's been hit on by them... ...!!
 
A bankruptcy history can also affect your love life. People meeting strangers through dating sites often do background checks. Credit history is a part of a good one.
 
Back in the mid 70s I ran a credit check on a fiance. Some very weird stuff started to happen with money and I got nervous. Holy macaroni, Batman, did I uncover a whole lot of debt! Thousands in collection plus a bankruptcy!

Although the wedding was less than a week away, I called it off and ditched him. It wasn't only the debt but the fact that he had hidden it and lied to me.

Dodged a big bullet on that one.
 
I had lotsa fun when a woman I met on a forum wanted to meet me. She was planning a week vacation & she lived 3,000 miles away. I said I would share her airfare & hotel costs.
She did a background check on me & sent me the results - but she got ripped off. The printout correctly listed one speeding ticket from 10 years ago, but didn't list an arrest during a raid at a pinball arcade I was in after work. Someone called police & reported drug activity & they arrested everyone in the arcade. I was photographed & fingerprinted & sat in a cell for a couple of hours before they sent me home.

Many of these "Background Check" businesses sprang up, but most of them just take people's money & do exactly what anyone else with a computer can do for free.

Just for fun, I edited some real crime reports of serious crimes, substituting my photo & name & e-mailed them to her. She LOL'd.
 
Back in the mid 70s I ran a credit check on a fiance. Some very weird stuff started to happen with money and I got nervous. Holy macaroni, Batman, did I uncover a whole lot of debt! Thousands in collection plus a bankruptcy!

Although the wedding was less than a week away, I called it off and ditched him. It wasn't only the debt but the fact that he had hidden it and lied to me.

Dodged a big bullet on that one.

Good for you, Starsong! Great that you found that stuff out BEFORE you married him.
 
A poor credit history can certainly influence things in states that allow employers to see them ... poor history can mean you make poor choices and bad decisions to someone who does not know you ..

Many times how you are with money reflects who you are as a person ...

Not only that but an employer may feel if you cant handle your own money and financial life how can you be trusted with company resources..

The auto insurance industry proved a link between honesty and lower scoring individuals as a group ... you are judged by the company you keep
 
Good for you, Starsong! Great that you found that stuff out BEFORE you married him.

I had an uncle who was a VP at an insurance company. I called him and explained what was going on. He had me supply my fiance's address, SS#, date of birth, and maybe something else, I can't remember. He ran the check and it was so bad that he didn't have the nerve to call me back. He called my folks who were the ones who broke the bad news.

I called off the wedding on Monday - we were supposed to marry that Saturday. Let me tell you, there were all kinds of crazy stories involved with cancelling everything at that late date. For instance, I called and cancelled the cake. About ten minutes later the bakery called back to verify that I was cancelling. I told them that I was very sorry, but yes the cake was canceled.

The woman told me that it was their policy to double check with the person who originally booked wedding cakes when there was a cancellation because they'd had the experience of people (not the bride & groom) cancelling the cake and the hall before a wedding. The bride, groom and guests showed up and nothing was ready.

Can you imagine in your wildest dreams that anyone would be so vindictive?

True story.
 
If the employee was a good one, the previous employer will often say something like, "She's a candidate for one of your open positions? Lucky you! She was a true asset to our organization and everyone was sure sorry to see her go. I'd bring her back on in a minute if we had an opening and she showed any interest."

When potential employers call my husband or me for employment verifications about previous employees, we wax poetic about the good ones. So far we're batting 1000... they've ALWAYS gotten hired by the new firm, including two who went with the Los Angeles Police Department after college.

As for the law, in reality it kind of works like the enduring line from Thumper in the movie Bambi: "If you can't say somethin' nice, don't say nothin' at all."
Nobody's going to sue you for saying positive things about them.
There are also employers who will wax poetic about an employee applying for another job just so they can get the 'trouble maker' off their hands. I had that happen once when I was hiring for an assistant. I called the hiree in for a 2nd interview just to talk with her again and see if she appeared to actually be able to do the job and whether I could work with her. The end of the 2nd interview I told her I would give her a call after I called in a couple of others for a 2nd interview. Little twit kinda went bonkers. Snatched up her purse and said something along the lines that if I couldn't make a decision now that I would never make a decision. Called the poet back to tell him about the reaction. He laughed and said she always throws tantrums like that. I hired someone else.
 
Here's a newsflash for people who value credit history & credit scores:
In a bad economy, someone can be unemployed for several months through no fault of their own. Their credit score & credit history might suffer as a result. So....that's their fault & they shouldn't be hired in the future because that makes them a deadbeat?
And, some people are victims of fraud & identity theft - also through no fault of their own. I've had people tell me, "You shouldn't have given out your Social Security number, so it's your fault your identity was stolen." I always ask such dullards: "What do you do when you're filling out a credit application & it's required? How about every time you apply for a job & fill out a W-2? How can you make sure no one else sees those documents after you leave? Or while you're working there. How about when the Social Security or Medicare office mails you a document with your Social Security number on it & your mail is lost or stolen or misdirected?"
I have mistakenly received other people's mail - with someone's Social Security Number, address & phone on it.
 
here is another news flash .. pretty much at some point in our lives most if not all of us experience one of the big 3 .. divorce-illness -job loss .
yet we we all come out differently ... many of us make choices and decisions leading up to these 3 financial killers that are better than other choices we could have made ..

but in the end your credit history is part of who you are to strangers who have to evaluate you ... it is like fighting a war and in war innocent people get killed . so fair or not you are judged by the company you keep . so yes , these credit scores can effect your life and you may be one of those innocent casulties .
 
These days applicants are typically complete strangers to potential employers, previous employers are legally prevented from offering anegative references, and numerous legal hoops are required to fire someone. Therefore, potential new employers must use whatever means they can to get a sense of who the true character of the person they're considering.

Social media postings, criminal and credit background checks, and other sleuthing results paint a fairly accurate picture of who we are. It's completely reasonable for potential employers to look at us through those lenses. Our choices define us better than any other yardstick. (We advised numerous young applicants to get themselves a professional email address using their names, and ditch goofy ones like: KeepYourHandsOffMySh1t@yahoo.com or even worse, addresses with misspellings like ItsDefinatelyMe@yahoo.com.)

If I'd had my identity stolen and were looking for a new job, I'd bring documentation of the ID theft to interviews and get ahead of it. Explain what happened, where I was in the process of sorting it out, how it was likely to appear on any background checks, and offer proof that this was a recent, aberrant occurrence, rather than a long-standing issue.

If my credit had been bad for many years, I would likewise bring an explanation for why and how that happened and proof of what I was doing to sort that out. Ditto if I had a criminal record.

Potential employers view a direct, honest, organized, proactive applicant much more favorably than one who shrugs off these blots or says nothing in hopes that it won't be discovered.
 
There are absolutely legitimate reasons for bad credit scores. But at the sametime isn't there something to be said for those with a better credit compared to someone with a good credit.

Also shouldn't a company be able to see how a person's credit score is trending. In other words what has the applicant done with their numerical score since it bottomed out. Although not a good score they should get credit for improving it.

In the end the credit score in any form should just be "a" or one of many factors regardless.




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