I have been with my company for 3 years. I went out oh short term disability and they took their time paying out so I fell behind on my bills. I went back to work once cleared to return. My husband got sick and needed to have surgery abt 2 months after I returned to work. I qualified for paid time off through my job . All forms were complete and turn in. After being off for 2 weeks on the day I was to return my job calls and tells me I didn't qualify. I asked why are you just now informing me of this after me being off. They gave no explanation just an lame apology. The next day while at work they call again and say they made an mistake and I did qualify. I did not receive payment until the end of the month after I refused to come in because I had no $$$ to pay childcare. I have fallen so far behind trying to catch up on my bills its frustrating and I fell like what's the point in working because I'm now living pay check to paycheck trying to catch up.

I am a former soldier of 26 years and a veteran teacher of 24 years. I have two MAED's an MBS, a BS in business, an associate degree in Paralegal studies and I am a certified tax associate. In addition, I have a teaching license with an administrative endorsement from the state of Nevada. Prior to my recent divorce I even obtained a CDL and drove a tractor trailer for a year. Lastly, my doctoral degree will be issued to me as soon as I finish dissertation and pay off my last semester's tuition. With all of the education that I have, you would think that I could get a job that does not include baby siting someone else's children or driving a truck. Between 1980 and 1982 I was an instructor at the United States Military Academy at West Point New York and between 1988 and 1992 I instructed Military Science at the University of California at Berkeley. Because I spent so much time pursuing higher education, I became very familiar with computers and other electronics therefore, I really would like to obtain a position wherein I can use my knowledge and extensive experience to make addition money to pay off my student loans and improve my life during my declining years. I admit that I am 71 years old but I am totally physically fit and my mental capacity is beyond reproach. Can someone please help me?

The other day i interviewed over the phone for a job with a company that helps with credit repair. I stared i was very interested and would like to learn more about this so i could also fix my own credit. Despite, what the the big financial gurus you hear on TV or radio say about they make it sound so easy to fix your own credit and past debts, etc., its actually much harder, more costly and could be more complex to fix or remove. In particular, if it was an ex spouse who left several blemishes on it.

You can only do so much when struggling to pay the rent, the car, etc.. Make the ends meet, keep a job and survive. On a ten, eleven and twelve an hour ten hour work day on the job by the end of the day, you will have not much left over to be concerned about investing into fix credit reports. So, i asked the lady interviewing me if credit checks were a consideration in the hiring process. She said they do credit checks but the hiring decision is not based on credit. I thought, if the decision is not based on credit, then why do it? Why do or must employers have to peer into our credit records?. Its a form of discrimination, a way to weed out a prospective job applicant and an outright invasion of privacy. A job applicants credit.. Good, bad, ugly or indifferent has nothing to do with their abilities to perform in a job.

Its outrightly an invasion of personal privacy. Its like an employer checking your medical records for employment which is also illegal. Medical records are protected by the Hippa Act and so too, should our credit records be protected by something similar. So, I accepted what the interviewer had said and the next day i get an email thanking me for my time and how impressed with my interview they were but decided to choose other candidates to meet their needs better. In all, they could have just said it was my credit that was the problem. I strongly believe that was the deciding factor despite what they said. In fact, when i asked about the credit check, she seemed a bit hesitant in telling me when i addressed my concern about it.

So, the point being here, for all of you seeing this, if your credit has issues, do be advised it could very well prevent you from being hired or considered for a job. You can be denied employment based on bad or negative credit reports. Seven states have put laws in place making it illegal for employers to run credit checks on job prospects but its still not enforceable just yet and not every state has this law. Write to your congress representatives, the Legislature and even the President to enforce and pass laws making this practice illegal.