Employee Fairness Act
James Carville, Bill Clinton's political adviser back in 1996, likes to tell the story of how he made sure Clinton's campaign for reelection remained focused was by slapping a sign on the wall of his office, for all to see, that said "It's the economy, stupid!" Clearly I'm not a fan of Carville's, and am even a lesser fan of Clinton's, but they at least had that one thought right; that America is at its best when employers are hiring and people are working and government should constructively do everything possible to make that situation a reality.
In fact, HB 87, the Job Applicant Fairness Act, is another in a long line of Orwellian sounding steps toward employer/employee satisfaction, when in fact it's merely another regulation that will continue to roadblock ending or reducing unemployment. It's a directive our employers could do without in these trying times.
If passed, this bill would prohibit most employers from using an applicant's or employee's credit report or credit history in determining whether to hire them or not. In addition, HB 87 allows workers to bring civil actions against their employers if they think their termination was brought about by their poor credit report or other debt. At first glance, that all sounds well and good for the employee.
But what about what's good for the employer? Only people who have never worked in the private sector or operated their own business, like some members in the General Assembly, would think that introducing doubt and uncertainty into the hiring process would get more people jobs, resulting in lower unemployment. Why would a business hire a worker they don't know? Why would a business hire a worker they are then unable to terminate without the threat of being sued? Why would an employer allow someone with an unknown past handle money or sensitive information?
In addition to the lost wages and reduced tax revenue resulting from this recession, last year alone Maryland paid out almost $1 billion in unemployment compensation benefits to people without jobs. And with new federal legislation requiring unemployment benefits to be paid for 99 weeks or more, you can assume this year's unemployment compensation payout statewide will be even higher than $1 billion.
You'd expect Maryland's state legislature to make it as easy, and as encouraging, as possible for businesses to bring as many new workers online. But those expectations would be misplaced.
Instead, the consequences of HB 87 and other misguided "feel good" regulations, coupled with Maryland's high business and income tax rates, including a complete lack of employer incentives, as well as high unemployment insurance premiums, is continued joblessness and loss of prosperity. This bill is a prime example of why Maryland employers are leaving and companies like Northrup Grumman continue to locate in neighboring states like Virginia.
