Kevin Palmer, 49, of Santa Ana, Calif., lost a job offer after a credit check revealed a bankruptcy.
Mercy House clients Juan Ochoa and Kevin Palmer are featured in today’s New York Times story by Jonathan D. Glater titled “Another Hurdle for the Jobless: Credit Inquiries.”
Ochoa and Palmer resided at Mercy House Living Center, Southern California’s leader in providing housing and comprehensive supportive services for the homeless. During that time they worked hard to dig themselves out of debt, trying to gain employment.
Their latest hurdle has been landing a job, only to have the offer revoked due to a poor credit report.
Some call it discrimination, while some business owners view it as an obligation of diligence. Kevin Palmer experienced this situation more than once.
After an interview that seemed to go well one day in June at a property management company, a manager walked him around the office the next day, introduced him to other employees and showed him an available desk.
A credit check later, the offer vanished.
It was “a glorified clerk’s job, taking homeowners’ complaints,” Mr. Palmer said of the opportunity, which paid about $39,000 and could have gotten him back on his feet after losing his condominium to foreclosure and filing for bankruptcy.
Last month, he says he found a job at a property management company in San Francisco — a company that did not run a credit check on him.
