CITY HALL — Onieka O'Kieffe knew that student loans had damaged her credit score — but she was confident that she was more than qualified for the managerial position at the large department store she had applied for.
"The interview went well and they expressed that I had a lot of experience," said O'Kieffe, 24, who added the employer mentioned they would perform a credit check.
A few days later, she was told she didn't get the job and was offered a position that paid $2 per hour less. The employer wouldn't explicitly say so, but O'Kieffe knew her credit score was at issue.
"It was a slap in the face because I was more than capable for the job," she said.
Under a law proposed by the City Council, New York City employers would be banned from performing credit checks on employees. Brooklyn Councilman Brad Lander is sponsoring the bill because he said the practice needlessly keeps New Yorkers from finding work.
The practice relies on the "prejudice" that debt gives information about someone's character or ability, Lander said at a hearing before the Civil Rights Committee Friday.
"There is no demonstrated correlation to job performance and no demonstrated correlation to the likelihood to commit theft," said Lander.
Approximately 47 percent of employers perform credit checks on job applicants. Advocates point out that credit reports were not designed to assess job performance and have a higher negative impact on people of color.
About 25 percent of credit reports have errors and many with poor credit were impacted based on divorce, a medical issue, identity theft or the loss of a job.
"A person should be judged by their ability and if they are qualified they should get the job," said Public Advocate Letitia James at a rally before the hearing.
More than 75 civil rights and labor groups in the city support the legislation. Ten other states and the city of Chicago already have similar laws.
Maya Wiley, legal counsel for the de Blasio administration, supported the idea behind the legislation, saying it was important not to "place senseless roadblocks" in front of job seekers, but added the administration believes there may need to be certain exemptions to the proposed law.
"There are certain contexts in which aspects of an individual's consumer financial history may, in fact, be relevant to an employer's decision-making," Wiley said at the hearing.
Oregon allows the use of credit history if it is "substantially job-related," while California allows them for certain jobs such as law enforcement and retail positions with access to credit card information. Chicago allows credit checks for banking and insurance industry jobs, Wiley said.
"We look forward to working with the Council to identify possible exemptions that would be appropriate for New York City," said Wiley.
Wiley said the administration has not "taken a position on any specific exemptions."
Lander said the bill already has exemptions for jobs that require a credit check under federal or state laws, such as mortgage loan originators, but he wanted the bill to pass without further exclusions.
The bill currently has the support of a super majority of the council, meaning it could withstand a mayoral veto, Lander said.
