Discrimination against Minorities, today's criminal: Verizon.

On Seattle's nwjobs.com employment website I spotted an advertisement for Verizon Wireless. It seems that they want to hire a few people, so I initiated the application process. http://www22.verizon.com/jobs/ is their corporate page for employment. I had followed a link provided by nwjobs.com, and I note that the verizon page doesn't list any positions in my state of WA, but several are listed on the Seattle Times job page. I follow through the application steps, and the LAST step which is REQUIRED by Verizon is permission to run a thorough credit check. This is not the background check permission which I'd already filled out and signed. A separate page dedicated to the infamous "credit check."

I say infamous, because creditworthiness was used as a method of discrimination against women and ethnic minorities historically, and continues to be used that way to this day. Banks, and only Financial Institutions, have any reason at all to consider your financial history before hiring you. Everyone else = racial and sexual discrimination. The reason for this is that women typically have lower credit, less income, and less opportunity than men. Also, ethnic minorities often abhor credit and refuse to maintain a credit score. I am one of those minorities. I'm Jewish, and I do not participate in the credit system as it is against my beliefs.

So, Verizon is openly, wantonly, and without cause, engaging in a clear violation of human rights and civil rights by requiring a credit check. It discriminates against women, against race, and against religion. Verizon is not a bank, a lender, nor a financial institution, and has no excuse for requiring a credit check upon an initial application.

If they were hiring me for an executive position, it could be excused as a request made AFTER THE INTERVIEW, because executives are held to be financially responsible, and the same goes for CFOs, CPAs, and other actuaries. NONE of the positions advertised by Verizon were such, and even those do not warrant a credit check UP FRONT. First-contact credit checks are 100% discriminatory under any discrimination law that I'm familiar with in all 50 states.

I'm shocked, because I've loved and enjoyed my Verizon service. I'm a customer that until now has been delighted with higher quality service at Verizon than I've obtained from Tmobile or ATT. I can't see how better service arrives from requiring credit checks. Many of the people I currently work with have degrees and a long history of good credit, but are now suffering from credit problems thanks simply to the economy. We're all employed, not bums, but I've sat in the lunchroom enough to hear that more than half the 250 people there have some credit issues that they are struggling with, and one of my co-workers has lost her house despite having been employed over the last two years.

It's a rough time, and that makes it all the more onerous that Verizon insists in engaging in a discriminatory practice. Good credit does not equate to better people. Most of the worst thieves I've ever seen were driving a Mercedes or wearing fashion designer clothing, and worked as executives. My family has rented businesses and houses, and it's the rich ones who don't pay, the privileged who do the most damage, and they're the ones attempting to smuggle millions offshore to avoid taxes. Middle class people pay their bills.

Bad news, Verizon. You're a bigot.