PRYOR — Karen Becker submitted to a credit check when she applied for a job at Gatorade several years ago. Her credit rating was good. They hired her and she worked until her layoff in 2009. Things got tough, money was tight, and bills were paid, but paid late. Now more than a year later, she’s reached the end of her unemployment benefits and she is being denied jobs because of her credit rating.

“Most of my debt is credit cards and they wouldn’t work with me at all,” she said.

Becker has been busy with her job search from the very beginning. She’s a regular at Oklahoma Workforce, constantly checking openings.

“I’ve been to every job fair in the area and have submitted dozens and dozens of applications,” Becker said.

She has had several interviews and callbacks both by phone and in person, but nothing led to employment.

Now, she is one of thousands of Oklahomans who have reached the end of the line as far as unemployment benefits are concerned.

“I’ve reached the end of my Tier 3 benefits. There’s nothing left,” she said. Already staying busy, her job search went into overdrive.

“When you are faced with no income at all, picky goes out the window,” she said. Though she had already applied for lower paying jobs, she had tried to stay in a certain pay range to be able to afford her bills.

She has marketable skills. A certified forklift operator for Gatorade, she loaded and unloaded various types of trucks and trailers with single or double loader lifts.

She did wiring harness work for Labinal and has worked in food service.

In the office, she’s done data entry, spreadsheets, scheduling and customer service.

No, the problem is her credit rating.

“It’s been a struggle to stay caught up with my credit cards and other bills and when they wouldn’t work with me, I was pretty much at their mercy as far as what they reported to the various agencies,” she said.

Last week, with a recent “all but hired” offer from a minimum wage job in Pryor, she was contacted and informed that she “didn’t pass the pre-employment checks.”

“They did a background check and a credit check,” she said. “There’s nothing to find in my background check, so that left one thing … my credit.”

Earlier in the summer, she was refused employment because she did not sign a release for a credit check.

“I wasn’t handling money, so I didn’t see the necessity,” she said.

According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission and the state attorney general, an employer must get permission to look at a credit report. If a job is refused because

of information in the report, the employer must play show and tell. They have to show

the potential employee the

unfavorable report, and tell the individual how to get a copy from the consumer reporting company.

Becker’s most recent denial came by phone, so nothing was shown to her. The company promised to mail a copy, but she has never received it.

According to the FTC Web site, “employers use your credit history to gauge your level of responsibility. Whether a valid assumption or not, some employers believe if you are not reliable in paying your bills, then you will not be a reliable employee. Unfortunately, a bad credit report can work against you in your search for employment.”

It goes on to report that “in addition to your payment history, a credit report typically includes information about your former addresses and previous employers. Employers can use this as one way to verify the accuracy of information you provide on an application or resume.”

The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission said that not every employer requires a credit check for employment, but they can if they so choose.

“A credit check is generally permitted for employers to do, mainly because there is no Federal discrimination law that specifically prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of a bad credit report,” OESC said.

For Becker, it’s been a vicious circle.

“The job that hired me in part due to a credit check has now cost me another job because they laid me off and made it impossible to keep up with my bills,” she said.