Passage of HR3149 and bills in state legislatures are just one set of tools on our path toward removing employment credit checks from the corporate bag of employment discrimination. Long in coming, we’ve now been given a new tool with which to fight back and it’s called litigation in the court system as well as suits brought by the EEOC. When you fight you fight with the weapons you have! To lay it all out, we’ll start with a suit against the University of Miami that is part of a larger effort outside of the University of Miami suit. For background on the suit, we provide the following link:
http://newsone.com/nation/newsonestaff2/bad-credit-cost-woman-job-at-university-of-miam/
Of course if you are a member of the minority community and have been discriminated against based upon employment credit checks or know someone that has, we’d like for you to use the link below to join the suit. Just as importantly, if not more, please reach out to any member of the minority community anywhere in America that has been discriminated against based on employment credit checks and have them make contact with this NY law firm as well. The more suits we can bring, the more monetary damage and legal precedents we can deliver the greater our chances of removing employment credit reports from the corporate bag of employment discrimination tools. It’s your job to seek out and find all the litigants possible and send them the link below to join the at large pool of potential litigants. Please get this link out to everyone in America.
http://www.creditdiscrimination.net/index.php?option=com_proforms&jid=1&cid=-1&Itemid=89
If you are a white American like we happen to be, we know what you’re thinking and you couldn’t be more WRONG! When our fellow Americans who are members of the minority community win this case and others to follow we all win! We’re in this together, but it’s only the minority community that are currently protected by law against employment discrimination based upon credit reports because of Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race. Because black Americans and Hispanics have a far higher rate of poor credit, they can sue because employment credit checks disproportionately discriminate against them based upon their race.
We address race issues head on and don’t pull punches. Race is just part of reality. It is horribly unfair that white Americans can join this suit, but in regard to litigation within the court system we can only fight with the laws that are passed and on the books and with the exception of 4 states no laws exist to protect everyone. It sucks, it’s unfair and we’re going to change that . . . trust us!
Please do not allow race to divide all Americans impacted by employment credit checks. We’re in this fight together and based upon the laws on the books we need our fellow Americans from the minority community to take the lead. So find them, reach out to them and get the link above into their hands.
Once these suits are won by the minority community, we all win. Here’s why: now way, now how, just not possible will blacks and Hispanics be the only people excluded from employment credit checks!!!!! It’s not going to happen!!!!! Assuming that white America didn’t first take the streets in violence, the law suits based upon "reverse discrimination" will be coming out the wood work so fast and furious that every unemployed lawyer in America will suddenly have a job. Every company in America will get hammered by white Americans and the media will fan the fire to a point where companies will finally say “pulling employment credit reports on anyone of any race is just not worth the legal trouble”. . . the law suits, the outrage and the loss of revenues from “pissed off” Americans of all races that refuse to do business with companies pulling credit reports will finally turn the tide in our favor – not to mention that all this activity will drive passage of HR3149 as well.
This specific suit and all that will follow are a win for all Americans of all races!!! Do not allow division within our ranks! Stand solid with members from the minority community by encouraging them to join in the litigation.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Activity Request and Update
Where Are We and Where Do We Go From Here?
While many, if not most, political pundits would project that the November 2nd vote lessened our chances of passage of HR3149 in Congress, we see it another way. It made numbers supporting the measure and passion from those numbers far more important. We’ve been out of touch with you for about a month while we’ve been monitoring events and the new political landscape.
It quickly became obvious that nothing was going to happen during the current lame duck session of Congress simply because the agenda was way too overcrowded, so we punted on outreach efforts to Congress and will pick that effort back up after the first of the year. In the meantime, we need you to recruit new members to our group. While we are far from being alone in our fight, our group numbers count for a variety of reasons such as: 1) quick mobilization without the internal political constraints of the many organizations on board for passage and 2) a true grass roots voice of common citizens untainted by some political party agenda. With that said, however, SIZE matters. We need tens of thousands of new members in order to speak with volume when the new Congress convenes in January.
Luckily we’ve been given a great new tool to use in both recruiting and advocacy. It is a series of four separate articles that we were privileged to consult upon. Written by Brenda Krueger Huffman, a new member to our group, who opened the door on a segment of Americans with ruined credit impacted by employment credit checks to long ignored. While much coverage has been focused on the minority and lower socioeconomic aspects of the issue, this is the first series we’re aware of that has highlighted the previous upper income tier of Americans of all races that are being impacted by employment credit checks.
While we have supported our membership in the minority community with outreach efforts specifically geared toward that segment of our membership, the opportunity to highlight a far larger segment of our membership has until now been difficult. With this series of articles, we intend to both reach and call out the previous upper income segment of Americans that have been hiding in the shadows in shame. If you fall into that category, you need to realize that you’ve done nothing for yourself and our cause by lurking in the shadows due to pride. With the Great Recession all stigma to a bad credit report have been removed, but until you make your voice heard, we’ll continue to struggle with passage of legislation to remove employment credit checks from the arsenal of workplace discrimination.
Toward that end, we’d like for all our group members to distribute the entire series of articles, beginning with first one linked below, in an effort to bring more members to our group and more importantly bring more people out of the shadows.
Please share the linked article as follows with every American you know:
http://axcessnews.com/index.php/articles/show/id/21264
Within at least two of the articles, if not all, Brenda has conveniently provided a link to to our FB group, but add it as well to all your verbiage in your recruiting efforts: with a “join our FB PAG at: http://groups.to/h.r.3149 in addition to providing our groups e-mail address at hr3149@hotmail.com with instructions for them to type ”sign me up” in the subject line in order to join our at large group outside of FB. We will shoot you a link to the second, third and fourth articles in the series as they become agailable. Now is the time to push hard to educate and recruit! To slightly paraphrase the words of John Paul Jones “we have just begun to fight!”
In other Employment Credit Check Discrimination News
The EEOC already has one suit under way in Baltimore in regard to employment credit checks and we’re monitoring that suit as it progresses through the courts. In addition, the EEOC recently held hearings in October in regard to employment credit checks and ALL indications are that they are taking the issue very seriously and many more suits will follow the one they have underway in Baltimore. Don't hesitate to make contact with the EEOC with even the hint of the issue employment credit checks being used against you.
Sue, Sue and Sue Some More!
Cases against the use of employment credit checks are gaining in both number and momentum all across the nation. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a related case this session and individuals across the nation are opening their own cases as well. The University of Miami is being sued and we’re awaiting word as to whether that case may give wind to a larger class action suit that we can join in so stay tuned. This could be a HUGE development!
Pay Attention to Your State
While at some point as many as 16 states have considered legislation, New Jersey, Ohio and the District of Columbia seem to be the hottest at the moment. While our limited time and resources preclude us heavily supporting legislation on a state by state basis, we will commit to act as a clearing house for amassing people to work within states and sharing general state based information on our group FB page.
Individually, we’d love to hear from all residents within North Carolina who would like to get involved with initiating a state push. If you’d like to get involved just let us know.
Just Keep Fighting!!!!
The key is to fight, fight, fight in every way, at ever level of government whether it is at the national level, the state level or in the court system. We will win this battle and every day, unfortunatly, the numbes of credit distressed Americans say we will win, but NOT if they continue to hide in the shadows. Stand up, be proud, be strong and fight like hell for your right to work free from workplace discrimination. We will not be starved by the profits and greed of the big three credit bureaus and the politicans they have bought off and bribed.
While many, if not most, political pundits would project that the November 2nd vote lessened our chances of passage of HR3149 in Congress, we see it another way. It made numbers supporting the measure and passion from those numbers far more important. We’ve been out of touch with you for about a month while we’ve been monitoring events and the new political landscape.
It quickly became obvious that nothing was going to happen during the current lame duck session of Congress simply because the agenda was way too overcrowded, so we punted on outreach efforts to Congress and will pick that effort back up after the first of the year. In the meantime, we need you to recruit new members to our group. While we are far from being alone in our fight, our group numbers count for a variety of reasons such as: 1) quick mobilization without the internal political constraints of the many organizations on board for passage and 2) a true grass roots voice of common citizens untainted by some political party agenda. With that said, however, SIZE matters. We need tens of thousands of new members in order to speak with volume when the new Congress convenes in January.
Luckily we’ve been given a great new tool to use in both recruiting and advocacy. It is a series of four separate articles that we were privileged to consult upon. Written by Brenda Krueger Huffman, a new member to our group, who opened the door on a segment of Americans with ruined credit impacted by employment credit checks to long ignored. While much coverage has been focused on the minority and lower socioeconomic aspects of the issue, this is the first series we’re aware of that has highlighted the previous upper income tier of Americans of all races that are being impacted by employment credit checks.
While we have supported our membership in the minority community with outreach efforts specifically geared toward that segment of our membership, the opportunity to highlight a far larger segment of our membership has until now been difficult. With this series of articles, we intend to both reach and call out the previous upper income segment of Americans that have been hiding in the shadows in shame. If you fall into that category, you need to realize that you’ve done nothing for yourself and our cause by lurking in the shadows due to pride. With the Great Recession all stigma to a bad credit report have been removed, but until you make your voice heard, we’ll continue to struggle with passage of legislation to remove employment credit checks from the arsenal of workplace discrimination.
Toward that end, we’d like for all our group members to distribute the entire series of articles, beginning with first one linked below, in an effort to bring more members to our group and more importantly bring more people out of the shadows.
Please share the linked article as follows with every American you know:
http://axcessnews.com/index.php/articles/show/id/21264
Within at least two of the articles, if not all, Brenda has conveniently provided a link to to our FB group, but add it as well to all your verbiage in your recruiting efforts: with a “join our FB PAG at: http://groups.to/h.r.3149 in addition to providing our groups e-mail address at hr3149@hotmail.com with instructions for them to type ”sign me up” in the subject line in order to join our at large group outside of FB. We will shoot you a link to the second, third and fourth articles in the series as they become agailable. Now is the time to push hard to educate and recruit! To slightly paraphrase the words of John Paul Jones “we have just begun to fight!”
In other Employment Credit Check Discrimination News
The EEOC already has one suit under way in Baltimore in regard to employment credit checks and we’re monitoring that suit as it progresses through the courts. In addition, the EEOC recently held hearings in October in regard to employment credit checks and ALL indications are that they are taking the issue very seriously and many more suits will follow the one they have underway in Baltimore. Don't hesitate to make contact with the EEOC with even the hint of the issue employment credit checks being used against you.
Sue, Sue and Sue Some More!
Cases against the use of employment credit checks are gaining in both number and momentum all across the nation. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a related case this session and individuals across the nation are opening their own cases as well. The University of Miami is being sued and we’re awaiting word as to whether that case may give wind to a larger class action suit that we can join in so stay tuned. This could be a HUGE development!
Pay Attention to Your State
While at some point as many as 16 states have considered legislation, New Jersey, Ohio and the District of Columbia seem to be the hottest at the moment. While our limited time and resources preclude us heavily supporting legislation on a state by state basis, we will commit to act as a clearing house for amassing people to work within states and sharing general state based information on our group FB page.
Individually, we’d love to hear from all residents within North Carolina who would like to get involved with initiating a state push. If you’d like to get involved just let us know.
Just Keep Fighting!!!!
The key is to fight, fight, fight in every way, at ever level of government whether it is at the national level, the state level or in the court system. We will win this battle and every day, unfortunatly, the numbes of credit distressed Americans say we will win, but NOT if they continue to hide in the shadows. Stand up, be proud, be strong and fight like hell for your right to work free from workplace discrimination. We will not be starved by the profits and greed of the big three credit bureaus and the politicans they have bought off and bribed.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Activity Request: "Thank You" to HFS hearing participants
After a long break in activity requests, we have to pick it up again to utilize the upcoming lame duck session of Congress to push for passage. Although, passage is supported by at least 80+ percent of Americans, we’re not going to insult your intelligence by pretending that if we don’t get this passed during the upcoming lame duck session, that begins on Nov. 15, that our odds of passage won’t fall dramatically after the first of the year. Quite frankly, as far a Federal protection throughout the entire nation, it may be now or never due to the "new political realities" in Washington.
We’ll start out with the outreach below to members of the House Financial Services Committee that seemed to favor passage during their questioning at the hearing on Sep. 23 (click on the “archived webcast” link off the following linked page to watch the hearing if you wish http://financialservices.house.gov/Hearings/hearingDetails.aspx?NewsID=1355 then we’ll follow-up with other efforts in the coming days.
We’ve provided the following sample letter just as a point of reference because contacting most of these House members is not as straight forward as simply sending an e-mail in most cases. The point is to make contact via phone, fax and e-mail if we’ve provided a contact point. If we didn’t provide one or more of the three contact vehicles, below the sample letter, it simply means it wasn’t an available option.
[Sample letter/e-mail/message]
Thank you for your participation in the recent House hearing on HR3149. From your astute questions and comments it’s obvious that you get it. Employment Credit Checks are a worthless employment evaluation tool that only serve to put revenues into the coffers of the big three credit bureaus as well as unscrupulous resellers of credit information for purposes of employment evaluation.
No study, no data, no validation whatsoever exists for any rational human being to conclude that the personal credit information of a U.S. citizen, provided to any company or H.R. representative, delivers any value as an employment screening tool. The “living beyond one’s means” bar used in testimony during the hearing to block passage of HR3149 applies to at least 85 percent of all Americans. By that standard, only 15 percent of Americans should be allowed to work.
Fair, Isaac and Company (FICO) reported in April, 43.4 million of America's 170 million consumers had credit scores below 599. That's more than 25 percent of all consumers in this country, up from the pre-recession tally of 15 percent, or 25.5 million consumers. FICO's benchmark for "bad credit" is anything under 650, and anything under 700 is considered a "moderate credit" number. The number of recession-damaged Americans with credit scores under 700 is now 75 million, or 44.1 percent of consumers.
The problem is that HR3149 has been discussed long enough. Your fellow citizens are literally dying in some cases due to this draconian, heartless application of a credit report “scarlet letter” upon anyone with damaged credit that needs to work to put food on the table. The house has had two hearings, the EEOC has had a hearing, at least 4 states now have laws barring use of credit reports in employment (at least 16 other states are considering legislation) and the issue is finally receiving a significant amount of media coverage that’s long overdue.
Now, during the upcoming lame duck session of Congress, is the time for passage. If Nov. 2 said anything, it said one thing loud and clear: jobs and the economy are just about the only thing Americans really care about, but for two years Congress focused on anything but jobs and the economy. HR3149 is about jobs! It simply allows people to work, hold a job and earn a living.
Please refocus and make jobs and the economy the top priority by working to pass HR3149 during the upcoming lame duck session. At least 80+ percent of the American people support passage and it’s time that Congress listened to the people for a change.
You’ve had the hearings, you know that almost half of the entire U.S. population is impacted, you’re aware, or very well should be, that upwards of 30 million Americans are under or unemployed and you just got a clear undeniable message from voters that jobs and the economy are priority No. 1!
If not during the lame duck session then when — you know the answer to that question. It’s now or never to stand up for the people and do the right thing by passing HR3149 before the window of opportunity is closed for good.
[End Sample letter/e-mail/message]
House Contacts:
Chairman Gutierrez, IL
202.225.8203 in D.C. or 773.342.0774 in IL
e-Mail: fsdwebupdate@mail.house.gov
or
https://forms.house.gov/gutierrez/webforms/zip_auth.shtm
Congressman Steve Cohen, TN
1005 Longworth House Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20515
PH: 202.225.3265
FX: 202.225.5663
Congressman Mel Watt, NC
2304 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515-3312
PH: 202.225.1510
FX: 202.225.1512
Congressman Al Green, TX
236 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4309
PH: 202.225-7508
FX: 202.225-2947
Congressman David Scott, GA
225 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
PH: 202.225.2939
FX: 202.225.4628
Congresswoman Maxine Waters, CA
2344 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
PH: (202) 225-2201
FX: (202) 225-7854
We’ll start out with the outreach below to members of the House Financial Services Committee that seemed to favor passage during their questioning at the hearing on Sep. 23 (click on the “archived webcast” link off the following linked page to watch the hearing if you wish http://financialservices.house.gov/Hearings/hearingDetails.aspx?NewsID=1355 then we’ll follow-up with other efforts in the coming days.
We’ve provided the following sample letter just as a point of reference because contacting most of these House members is not as straight forward as simply sending an e-mail in most cases. The point is to make contact via phone, fax and e-mail if we’ve provided a contact point. If we didn’t provide one or more of the three contact vehicles, below the sample letter, it simply means it wasn’t an available option.
[Sample letter/e-mail/message]
Thank you for your participation in the recent House hearing on HR3149. From your astute questions and comments it’s obvious that you get it. Employment Credit Checks are a worthless employment evaluation tool that only serve to put revenues into the coffers of the big three credit bureaus as well as unscrupulous resellers of credit information for purposes of employment evaluation.
No study, no data, no validation whatsoever exists for any rational human being to conclude that the personal credit information of a U.S. citizen, provided to any company or H.R. representative, delivers any value as an employment screening tool. The “living beyond one’s means” bar used in testimony during the hearing to block passage of HR3149 applies to at least 85 percent of all Americans. By that standard, only 15 percent of Americans should be allowed to work.
Fair, Isaac and Company (FICO) reported in April, 43.4 million of America's 170 million consumers had credit scores below 599. That's more than 25 percent of all consumers in this country, up from the pre-recession tally of 15 percent, or 25.5 million consumers. FICO's benchmark for "bad credit" is anything under 650, and anything under 700 is considered a "moderate credit" number. The number of recession-damaged Americans with credit scores under 700 is now 75 million, or 44.1 percent of consumers.
The problem is that HR3149 has been discussed long enough. Your fellow citizens are literally dying in some cases due to this draconian, heartless application of a credit report “scarlet letter” upon anyone with damaged credit that needs to work to put food on the table. The house has had two hearings, the EEOC has had a hearing, at least 4 states now have laws barring use of credit reports in employment (at least 16 other states are considering legislation) and the issue is finally receiving a significant amount of media coverage that’s long overdue.
Now, during the upcoming lame duck session of Congress, is the time for passage. If Nov. 2 said anything, it said one thing loud and clear: jobs and the economy are just about the only thing Americans really care about, but for two years Congress focused on anything but jobs and the economy. HR3149 is about jobs! It simply allows people to work, hold a job and earn a living.
Please refocus and make jobs and the economy the top priority by working to pass HR3149 during the upcoming lame duck session. At least 80+ percent of the American people support passage and it’s time that Congress listened to the people for a change.
You’ve had the hearings, you know that almost half of the entire U.S. population is impacted, you’re aware, or very well should be, that upwards of 30 million Americans are under or unemployed and you just got a clear undeniable message from voters that jobs and the economy are priority No. 1!
If not during the lame duck session then when — you know the answer to that question. It’s now or never to stand up for the people and do the right thing by passing HR3149 before the window of opportunity is closed for good.
[End Sample letter/e-mail/message]
House Contacts:
Chairman Gutierrez, IL
202.225.8203 in D.C. or 773.342.0774 in IL
e-Mail: fsdwebupdate@mail.house.gov
or
https://forms.house.gov/gutierrez/webforms/zip_auth.shtm
Congressman Steve Cohen, TN
1005 Longworth House Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20515
PH: 202.225.3265
FX: 202.225.5663
Congressman Mel Watt, NC
2304 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515-3312
PH: 202.225.1510
FX: 202.225.1512
Congressman Al Green, TX
236 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4309
PH: 202.225-7508
FX: 202.225-2947
Congressman David Scott, GA
225 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
PH: 202.225.2939
FX: 202.225.4628
Congresswoman Maxine Waters, CA
2344 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
PH: (202) 225-2201
FX: (202) 225-7854
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Very Important Activity Request!!!!
We’re moving forward and the use of employment credit checks has never had more news coverage in a single week than with this week’s hearing by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). For some of the coverage simply click on the links we’ve provided on our group wall, but the following link was the most high profile and the best we’ve seen: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/23/AR2010102300314.html?hpid=topnews
Please send the writer an e-mail at singletarym@washpost.com to thank her for the article and encourage her to provide more reporting on this critical issue. Coverage in the WP is as good as it gets for our cause and we need more of it. You may also want to include some of the information contained in the sample letter below.
Please Mail Five Letters this Week to the EEOC
Ms. Jacqueline Berrien, Chair
Mr. Stuart J. Ishimaru, Commissioner
Ms. Constance S. Barker, Commissioner
Ms. Chai Feldblum, Commissioner
Ms. Victoria A. Lipnic, Commissioner
Mailing Address for All Five Letters:
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
131 M Street, NEWashington, DC 20507
[Sample Letter]
As evidenced by your hearing last week on the use of credit checks within the employment arena, I’m encouraged that you’re finally beginning to address the issue. With that said however, I’m alarmed at two issues: 1) The massive amount of misinformation being pumped into the discussion and 2) The lack of concern and sense of immediate need on the part of the commission. I’ll address the misinformation first:
* This is NOT some small insignificant problem impacting only a few black and Hispanic people.
* Fair, Isaac and Company (FICO) just reported that as of April 2010, 43.4 million of America's 170 million consumers had credit scores below 599. That's more than 25 percent of all consumers in this country, up from the pre-recession tally of 15 percent, or 25.5 million consumers. FICO's benchmark for "bad credit" is anything under 650, and anything under 700 is considered a "moderate credit" number. The number of recession-damaged Americans with credit scores under 700 is now 75 million, or 44.1 percent of consumers.
* Virtually no one within any company or corporate HR department has any training, yardstick or clue as to how and by what measure to evaluate a consumer credit report.
* Virtually no one has or ever will be given any opportunity to “explain their credit report” (nor should they have to with an employer). The employer simply moves on to the next applicant . . . job filled.
* Virtually no company ever follows the current laws in place whereby an applicant is notified they were denied employment due to their credit report. The company just moves on to the next candidate and says they were a “better fit.” The law is not monitored or enforced by the FTC contrary to their testimony.
With just some of the misinformation corrected above, please consider first and foremost that employment credit checks are a gross invasion of an individual’s privacy. Everyone in America should be allowed to work if they are willing and ZERO evidence exists to validate or document that someone with poor credit is more likely to steal or commit fraud within the workplace. The “living beyond one’s means” criteria used in testimony does not hold water, because that describes 85% of the American population. Do you live beyond your means?
In closing, the issue of employment credit checks is the No. 1 issue in America along with jobs and the economy. With damaged credit, in America, you don’t work anywhere that pays a living wage . . . end of story. With 30+ million un or under-employed Americans someone out of the five applicants for every job will still have good credit and they get the job . . . it’s just that simple!
Imagine for a moment, if you can, that you don’t have a big job at the EEOC and you are well qualified to work but have damaged credit. You have two children at home that need to be clothed and fed and everywhere you apply to work you’re turned down because of your credit report. Children are starving and people are committing suicide because of employment credit checks . . . that’s the reality!
So when you conclude that the issue “needs more research and study” ask yourself how many more children will starve and how many more people will die while you are studying the issue? Ask yourself if “more study” would be acceptable if it was your children starving?
Employment credit checks are one thing and one thing ONLY: a money making revenue stream for the big three credit bureaus. They have no validity or relevance in the workplace whatsoever. No research or evidence backs up their use within the employment arena. More than 75 million of your fellow Americans don’t have the time or luxury for “more study.” There is no food on the table, there are rags on the backs of our children, our homes are being taken away and our cars are being repossessed . . . all so the big three credit bureaus can make a buck and for no other reason whatsoever.
I ask you to move and move quickly with any further “study” to end this horrible practice that should have never been allowed to begin in the first place. Now, however, during the Great Recession it is more important than ever before.
[End Sample Letter]
Please send the writer an e-mail at singletarym@washpost.com to thank her for the article and encourage her to provide more reporting on this critical issue. Coverage in the WP is as good as it gets for our cause and we need more of it. You may also want to include some of the information contained in the sample letter below.
Please Mail Five Letters this Week to the EEOC
Ms. Jacqueline Berrien, Chair
Mr. Stuart J. Ishimaru, Commissioner
Ms. Constance S. Barker, Commissioner
Ms. Chai Feldblum, Commissioner
Ms. Victoria A. Lipnic, Commissioner
Mailing Address for All Five Letters:
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
131 M Street, NEWashington, DC 20507
[Sample Letter]
As evidenced by your hearing last week on the use of credit checks within the employment arena, I’m encouraged that you’re finally beginning to address the issue. With that said however, I’m alarmed at two issues: 1) The massive amount of misinformation being pumped into the discussion and 2) The lack of concern and sense of immediate need on the part of the commission. I’ll address the misinformation first:
* This is NOT some small insignificant problem impacting only a few black and Hispanic people.
* Fair, Isaac and Company (FICO) just reported that as of April 2010, 43.4 million of America's 170 million consumers had credit scores below 599. That's more than 25 percent of all consumers in this country, up from the pre-recession tally of 15 percent, or 25.5 million consumers. FICO's benchmark for "bad credit" is anything under 650, and anything under 700 is considered a "moderate credit" number. The number of recession-damaged Americans with credit scores under 700 is now 75 million, or 44.1 percent of consumers.
* Virtually no one within any company or corporate HR department has any training, yardstick or clue as to how and by what measure to evaluate a consumer credit report.
* Virtually no one has or ever will be given any opportunity to “explain their credit report” (nor should they have to with an employer). The employer simply moves on to the next applicant . . . job filled.
* Virtually no company ever follows the current laws in place whereby an applicant is notified they were denied employment due to their credit report. The company just moves on to the next candidate and says they were a “better fit.” The law is not monitored or enforced by the FTC contrary to their testimony.
With just some of the misinformation corrected above, please consider first and foremost that employment credit checks are a gross invasion of an individual’s privacy. Everyone in America should be allowed to work if they are willing and ZERO evidence exists to validate or document that someone with poor credit is more likely to steal or commit fraud within the workplace. The “living beyond one’s means” criteria used in testimony does not hold water, because that describes 85% of the American population. Do you live beyond your means?
In closing, the issue of employment credit checks is the No. 1 issue in America along with jobs and the economy. With damaged credit, in America, you don’t work anywhere that pays a living wage . . . end of story. With 30+ million un or under-employed Americans someone out of the five applicants for every job will still have good credit and they get the job . . . it’s just that simple!
Imagine for a moment, if you can, that you don’t have a big job at the EEOC and you are well qualified to work but have damaged credit. You have two children at home that need to be clothed and fed and everywhere you apply to work you’re turned down because of your credit report. Children are starving and people are committing suicide because of employment credit checks . . . that’s the reality!
So when you conclude that the issue “needs more research and study” ask yourself how many more children will starve and how many more people will die while you are studying the issue? Ask yourself if “more study” would be acceptable if it was your children starving?
Employment credit checks are one thing and one thing ONLY: a money making revenue stream for the big three credit bureaus. They have no validity or relevance in the workplace whatsoever. No research or evidence backs up their use within the employment arena. More than 75 million of your fellow Americans don’t have the time or luxury for “more study.” There is no food on the table, there are rags on the backs of our children, our homes are being taken away and our cars are being repossessed . . . all so the big three credit bureaus can make a buck and for no other reason whatsoever.
I ask you to move and move quickly with any further “study” to end this horrible practice that should have never been allowed to begin in the first place. Now, however, during the Great Recession it is more important than ever before.
[End Sample Letter]
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Tuesday/Wednesday Media Outreach
Daily KOS http://www.dailykos.com/contactus
Crooks and Liars crooksandliars@gmail.com
The Progressive https://www.progressive.org/contact
The Nation http://www.thenation.com/node/399
Voice of America voanews@voanews.com
The American Prospect letters@prospect.org
ZCom zmag@zmag.org
Free Press
jsilver@freepress.net
caaron@freepress.net
cclement@freepress.net
jkelsey@freepress.net
Real Clear Politics.com
letters@realclearpolitics.com
john@realclearpolitics.com
tom@realclearpolitics.com
AOL News newsroom@aolnews.com
Political Wire
tips@politicalwire.com
CQ Politics cqpolitics2@cq.com
Crooks and Liars crooksandliars@gmail.com
The Progressive https://www.progressive.org/contact
The Nation http://www.thenation.com/node/399
Voice of America voanews@voanews.com
The American Prospect letters@prospect.org
ZCom zmag@zmag.org
Free Press
jsilver@freepress.net
caaron@freepress.net
cclement@freepress.net
jkelsey@freepress.net
Real Clear Politics.com
letters@realclearpolitics.com
john@realclearpolitics.com
tom@realclearpolitics.com
AOL News newsroom@aolnews.com
Political Wire
tips@politicalwire.com
CQ Politics cqpolitics2@cq.com
Monday/Tuesday Media Outreach
Michael Moore.com
http://www.michaelmoore.com/submit
The American Prospect
letters@prospect.org
The Daily Howler bobsomerby@hotmail.com
Call the Ed Schultz Show between daily between 12 – 3 EST877.934.6833
During the show between 12 – 3 EST use the following contact link/e-mail to flood the show with e-mails: ed@edschultzshow.com and use http://www.bigeddieradio.com/emailEd/ before and after the show.
Mother Jones scoop@motherjones.com
Washington Independent
alowrey@washingtonindependent.com
mlillis@washingtonindependent.com
awiener@washingtonindependent.com
rhartman@washingtonindependent.com
Tavis Smiley Show http://www.tavissmileyradio.com/tell.html
The Grio info@thegrio.com
Roland Martin roland@rolandsmartin.com
Santita Jackson Show santita@wvon.com
The Root readerfeedback@theroot.com
The Raw Story
ron@rawstory.com
larisa@rawstory.com
sahilkapur@gmail.com
The Real News Network
http://www.therealnews.com/t2/contact-us
Counter Punch counterpunch@counterpunch.org
Drudge Report drudge@drudgereport.com
Salon
readermail@salon.com
jwalsh@salon.com
klauerman@salon.com
Truthdig feedback@truthdig.com
Freepress.org truth@freepress.org
Open Left christopher_j_bowers@yahoo.com
NYT, Paul Krugman http://www.nytimes.com/gst/emailus.html
Washington Post http://projects.washingtonpost.com/staff/email/ezra+klein/
http://www.michaelmoore.com/submit
The American Prospect
letters@prospect.org
The Daily Howler bobsomerby@hotmail.com
Call the Ed Schultz Show between daily between 12 – 3 EST877.934.6833
During the show between 12 – 3 EST use the following contact link/e-mail to flood the show with e-mails: ed@edschultzshow.com and use http://www.bigeddieradio.com/emailEd/ before and after the show.
Mother Jones scoop@motherjones.com
Washington Independent
alowrey@washingtonindependent.com
mlillis@washingtonindependent.com
awiener@washingtonindependent.com
rhartman@washingtonindependent.com
Tavis Smiley Show http://www.tavissmileyradio.com/tell.html
The Grio info@thegrio.com
Roland Martin roland@rolandsmartin.com
Santita Jackson Show santita@wvon.com
The Root readerfeedback@theroot.com
The Raw Story
ron@rawstory.com
larisa@rawstory.com
sahilkapur@gmail.com
The Real News Network
http://www.therealnews.com/t2/contact-us
Counter Punch counterpunch@counterpunch.org
Drudge Report drudge@drudgereport.com
Salon
readermail@salon.com
jwalsh@salon.com
klauerman@salon.com
Truthdig feedback@truthdig.com
Freepress.org truth@freepress.org
Open Left christopher_j_bowers@yahoo.com
NYT, Paul Krugman http://www.nytimes.com/gst/emailus.html
Washington Post http://projects.washingtonpost.com/staff/email/ezra+klein/
Sunday/Monday Media Outreach
ABC News
Fire off a less than 2000 character note to Mr. Stephanopoulus via the following link: http://abcnews.go.com/Site/page?id=3052660
Associated PressGeneral Questions and Comments: info@ap.org
ABC News General e-mail: netaudr@abc.com
CBS NewsCBS Evening News: evening@cbsnews.com
The Early Show: earlyshow@cbs.com
Use the following link and hit: CBS Evening News http://www.cbs.com/info/user_services/fb_global_form.php
CNBC
mailto:%20info@cnbc.com
Fox News Channel
comments@foxnews.com
FOX Report with Shepard Smith: Foxreport@foxnews.com
MSNBC/NBC
Hardball with Chris Matthews: hardball@msnbc.com
Obermann Countdown@msnbc.com
Maddow rachel@msnbc.com
MSNBC Reports with Joe Scarborough: joe@msnbc.com
NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams: nightly@nbc.com
NBC News Today: today@nbc.com
PBS The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer: mailto:onlineda@newshour.org
Select “Submit a Story Idea” http://help.npr.org/npr/includes/customer/npr/custforms/contactus.aspx
The Los Angeles Times Readers' Representative: readers.rep@latimes.com
CNN, CNN Website, etc.
caffertyfile@cnn.com
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form11b.html?
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form5.html?
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form5.am.html
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form4.html?2
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form5.html?24
The New York Times
Write to the news editors: news-tips@nytimes.com
The Editors
executive-editor@nytimes.com
managing-editor@nytimes.com
The Newsroom bizday@nytimes.com
metro@nytimes.com
washington@nytimes.com
public@nytimes.com
USA Today Letters to the Editor: editor@usatoday.com
The Washington PostLetters to the Editor: letters@washpost.com
Huffington Post
huffpolitics@huffingtonpost.com
The Daily Democrat
pamela@thedemocraticdaily.com
Common Dreams
editor@commondreams.org
The Progressive
https://www.progressive.org/contact
The Nation
http://www.thenation.com/node/399
Fire off a less than 2000 character note to Mr. Stephanopoulus via the following link: http://abcnews.go.com/Site/page?id=3052660
Associated PressGeneral Questions and Comments: info@ap.org
ABC News General e-mail: netaudr@abc.com
CBS NewsCBS Evening News: evening@cbsnews.com
The Early Show: earlyshow@cbs.com
Use the following link and hit: CBS Evening News http://www.cbs.com/info/user_services/fb_global_form.php
CNBC
mailto:%20info@cnbc.com
Fox News Channel
comments@foxnews.com
FOX Report with Shepard Smith: Foxreport@foxnews.com
MSNBC/NBC
Hardball with Chris Matthews: hardball@msnbc.com
Obermann Countdown@msnbc.com
Maddow rachel@msnbc.com
MSNBC Reports with Joe Scarborough: joe@msnbc.com
NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams: nightly@nbc.com
NBC News Today: today@nbc.com
PBS The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer: mailto:onlineda@newshour.org
Select “Submit a Story Idea” http://help.npr.org/npr/includes/customer/npr/custforms/contactus.aspx
The Los Angeles Times Readers' Representative: readers.rep@latimes.com
CNN, CNN Website, etc.
caffertyfile@cnn.com
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form11b.html?
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form5.html?
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form5.am.html
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form4.html?2
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form5.html?24
The New York Times
Write to the news editors: news-tips@nytimes.com
The Editors
executive-editor@nytimes.com
managing-editor@nytimes.com
The Newsroom bizday@nytimes.com
metro@nytimes.com
washington@nytimes.com
public@nytimes.com
USA Today Letters to the Editor: editor@usatoday.com
The Washington PostLetters to the Editor: letters@washpost.com
Huffington Post
huffpolitics@huffingtonpost.com
The Daily Democrat
pamela@thedemocraticdaily.com
Common Dreams
editor@commondreams.org
The Progressive
https://www.progressive.org/contact
The Nation
http://www.thenation.com/node/399
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