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Starting July 1, most Oregon employers will no longer be able to use credit reports when evaluating applicants and employees. The new state law makes it unlawful for an employer to use or obtain an individual’s credit history for employment purposes, with limited exceptions.

The Legislature passed the bill to protect the many unemployed individuals searching for work. At the same time, the Legislature allowed four exceptions to the general rule prohibiting employers’ use credit checks.

Those circumstances include:

employers that are federally insured banks or credit unions;

employers that are required by state or federal law to use an individual’s credit history for employment purposes;

employers of public safety officers; and

employers that can demonstrate the credit information is substantially job-related and that provide written notice to the employee or prospective employee regarding the reasons for the credit check.

The circumstance most employers will wonder about is the fourth. What does “substantially job-related” mean? Will it swallow the general rule?

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Cristina Thacker

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