CHARLENE CROWELL

(NNPA)—As Black America continues to struggle with high unemployment rates, a new research report by Demos, a public policy organization titled, Discredited: How employment credit checks keep qualified workers out of a job, unveils how the use of credit history in employment decisions is often leaving people of color in the unemployment lines.
Among employers with fiduciary responsibilities, it is a long-standing practice to include credit reviews in hiring decisions. Banks, credit unions and similar employers should be careful in handling others’ money and deposits. But the Demos report found that employment credit checks now are becoming standard operating procedures for many employees without such responsibilities. In these instances, disproportionately screening people of color out of jobs can lead to discriminatory hiring.
With higher rates of unemployment and the additional burden of wealth disparities, many African-American and Latino households have a greater need to borrow for emergencies and are also at a greater risk for foreclosure or loan default.
Surveying nearly 1,000 low- and middle-income households with credit card debt, Demos found that people of color are disproportionately likely to report worse credit than Whites. Even for employed persons seeking a promotion at work, credit scores can be a factor in deciding which employee will get the better job.

Consumers surveyed shared that much of the debt going to collections agencies was for unexpected medical costs rather than for retail credit card usage. Households without health coverage were more than twice as likely to report that their credit score had declined in the past three years.
“It makes little sense to say that someone is not a good candidate for a job because they are still coping with the expense of a costly family medical emergency several years ago,” the report said. “Yet this may be exactly the type of situation that a blemished credit history indicates: having unpaid medical bills or medical debt is cited as one of the leading causes of bad credit among survey respondents.”
Amy Traub, the report’s author and a senior policy analyst at Demos, was even more frank. “This practice continues because it financially benefits the companies that market and sell this information to employers with little concern for the negative impact to the economic security of those with most at stake—low- and middle-income Americans struggling to find work in a tough job market.”
This specific finding on medical debt mirrors another by the Federal Reserve Board. According to the Fed, 52 percent of all accounts reported by collection agencies consisted of medical debt.
These consistent findings on medical debt are also reflected in America’s disproportionate unemployment data. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics continues to show that Black unemployment doubles that of Whites. From December 2012 through February 2013, White unemployment averaged 7 percent. By contrast, Black unemployment stood at 14 percent.
So what is a debt-burdened, unemployed consumer to do?
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) allows employers to request credit reports on job applicants and existing employees. The statute also lays out specific steps under which these credit checks must occur. By law, employers must:
 First obtain written permission from the affected consumer before a credit review;
 Notify individuals before any adverse action is taken as a result of the credit review;
 Offer the employee or applicant a copy of the credit report, along with a written summary of his/her consumer’ rights; and
 Provide job applicants with a brief period of time to dispute any errors in their report.
Additionally, eight states have laws against employment discrimination involving applicants’ credit history: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Oregon, Washington, and Vermont.
Currently three other states are now considering similar legislation: Colorado, Massachusetts and New York.
If your state lacks laws against this type of discrimination, contact your local legislator about passing such legislation.
(Charlene Crowell is a communications manager with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at Charlene.crowell@responsible­lending.org)

NEW DEVELOPMENTS—Robert Rubenstein of the URA and Deputy Secretary Carolyn Newhouse from the state Dept. of Community and Economic Development, right, pose with President and CEO Doris Carson Williams and Board Chair Sam Stephenson after speaking about new small business opportunities and resources at the African American Chamber’s March PowerBreakfast.

Robert Rubenstein, acting director of the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh said he would have spoken longer at the African American Chamber of Commerce’s March PowerBreakfast, but ceded half his time to allow state Department of Community and Economic Development Deputy Secretary Carolyn Newhouse to talk about small business benefits in Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed state budget.
Still, Rubenstein covered a lot of territory, from the authority’s mission and history to its investment strategy and, most importantly, the three different methods chamber members and entrepreneurs can do business with it.
 “Most commonly, we provide opportunities when we directly contract for services through requests for proposals and requests for quotes,” he said. “We post these on our website, and we also have a monthly newsletter that anyone can have emailed to them.”

The other two methods for working with the authority are through its developers, and through direct employment.
 “When we provide the land or loans for a project, they’ll do the hiring. But we refer firms and stipulate minority hiring requirements that typically outperform city goals by 50-60 percent,” he said. “Lastly, people can come to work for us directly. A change in administration usually means there are openings and we’re always looking for people with expertise in public policy, sustainability, grant management, compliance, and accounting and finance.”
Rubenstein added that while they like to keep as much in-house as possible, there are times when the URA will contract out accounting and legal work, and real estate appraising.
He also noted the authority has a number of major projects either just underway or starting shortly that will provide many of those opportunities. Just some of these are the Connelley/Energy Innovation Center, the Homewood Station Senior Apartments, Bakery Square II, and the East Liberty Transportation Center, which includes 330 apartments, 50,000 square feet of retail space, and construction of a new street between Centre and Penn Avenues.
Rubenstein also announced the authority’s Center for Entrepreneurship would partner with the chamber’s Business Institute on a number of small business improvement programs.
 Chamber President and CEO Doris Carson Williams said Newhouse did not appear on the PowerBreakfast program because it went out before the governor released his budget proposal.
 “She was happy to come by and give us an overview of what’s in there for small businesses,” said Williams. “As deputy secretary for innovation and investment, 75 percent of the development funding comes through her area.”
Newhouse also addressed streamlining in the department, and the addition of staff that will replace automated phone operators with human beings who will walk applicants through the process step by step.
Another benefit for businesses of all sizes is the proposed reduction in state business tax rate from 9 percent to 6 percent, she said.
(Send comments to cmorrow@newpittsburgh­courier.com.)

L.C. GREENWOOD becomes second Black on board.

When Consol Energy won the right to pay Allegheny County $500 million to extract natural gas from the International Airport property, the Marcellus Shale boom moved a little closer to Pittsburgh.
On March 14 it took another step closer when Steelers Hall-of-Famer L.C. Greenwood was named to the board of Southpointe Marcellus Shale Chamber of Commerce. The announcement was made during the chamber’s March luncheon at Southpointe.
Greenwood, whose Carnegie-based Greenwood Enterprises also includes packaging and manufacturing businesses, is working to expand his Greenwood-McDonald electrical supply throughout the Marcellus extraction and supply stream.
In his typically stoic fashion, beyond waving and saying “thank you,” Greenwood declined an offer from Chamber founder Don Hoder to speak during the luncheon presentations, preferring to remain at his table with Monaloh Basin Engineers founder Jim McDonald, Randall Industries founder Greg Spencer and chamber ambassador Scotti Mulert.
Spencer said he has been making inroads with various shale gas producers, but even with his past history as a vice president with EQT, it has been slow.
“There are a lot of new players, and the guys who know me know me mostly from (Department of Defense) contracting years ago,” he said. “So it’s fine tuning to get them to know what I’m doing now.”
Spencer has several products he developed for cleaning and de-scaling well pipes, which he sells to industry supplier Mays Energy, which like his firm is based in Indianola, Pa.
“I’m trying to see how the big players interact with the chamber and the mid-stream companies,” he said.
McDonald, whose engineering company is based in Finley Township, Pa., has been the lone African-American chamber member for years, and always an advocate to increased minority participation. While he said it is great to see Spencer, and to have Greenwood join him on the board, he’s not waiting for anything.
“I’m here at the meetings. I’m going to the companies. I’m going after it,” he said.
McDonald said he is currently bidding to do the site surveying work at the airport site that Consol will need before it even does any environmental or geotechnical evaluation.
“We already did a survey of the property for the (Transportation Safety Administration), so I’m pushing that experience,” he said.
His efforts may be paying off in one respect, he said. Consol recently hired a general manager for supplier diversity.
Hoder, who has known and worked with McDonald for 30 years, said there are opportunities throughout the shale supply chain.
“Trucking, pipe, surveyors, lawyers, accountants—demand is greater than the folks these companies have dealt with historically can provide,” he said. “Years ago I got a tiny contract to do the security system at Clark University—I was the only White guy there. But the prime was impressed with the work. I’m still getting work from that one contract. There is a lot of opportunity in this room, you just have to be ready for it.”
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Business Series
MARCH 21—The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will host their Business Program Series at 12:15 p.m. at the Downtown & Business branch, 612 Smithfield St., Downtown. The topic will be “The Mechanics of Starting a Small Business.” Raymond Vargo, director of the University of Pittsburgh Small Business Center, will explain the various business structures, available funding options and what is needed to formally establish one’s business. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 412-281-7141 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Let’s Get it Started
MARCH 22—The Greater Pittsburgh National Association of Women Business Owners will host “Think GINORMOUS-Let’s Get it Started” from 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel in Greentree, 500 Mansfield Ave., Greentree. This seminar will feature national and local speakers to inspire attendees and show them the best branding ideas. The featured speaker will be Susan Newman, founder of Broadcast-Louder. The daylong event will consist of workshops, panel discussions, a trade show, networking and more. Registration is required. For more information, call Mary Pam Kilgore at 412-854-4827.
Business Skills
Development
MARCH 23—The Center for Women’s Entrepreneurship at Chatham University will host a Business Skills Development Workshop from 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m. at Chatham University, Woodland Road, Oakland. The topic is “Elements of a Formal Plan.” Interested individuals who want to write a business plan will leave with a thorough understanding of the components, development process and the uses of a formal plan. Reservations are required and the cost is $35. For more information, visit www.chatham.edu/cwe.
ABC’s of Selling Online
MARCH 26—The University of Pittsburgh’s Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence and the African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania will host “The ABC’s of Selling Online” from 9-11 a.m. at the Kingsley Association, 6435 Frankstown Ave., East Liberty. Robert Stein, director of technology for the Institute, will facilitate this workshop geared toward business owners and individuals who want to learn practical information on entering the world of e-commerce. Topics will include Determining What Kind of Business to Start, Tools for Building a Website, Optimizing Your Website on a Search Engines and more. Registration is required. For more information, call 412-392-0610 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
2013 HR Energy Summit
MARCH 27—The Marcellus Resource Group and the Pittsburgh Human Resources Association will host the 2013 HR Energy Summit from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn Pittsburgh/Southpointe, 1000 Corporate Dr., Canonsburg. The theme is “Serving the Marcellus and Utica Shales.” This summit is to build new skills and know-how or to brush-up on key energy-specific HR issues and ideas that will increase the impact one will have on their organization’s success in this demanding industry. Bill Flanagan will be the keynote speaker, along with other featured presenters. For more information, visit www.pittsburghhra.org
Members’ Mixer
MARCH 27—The African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania will host its Members’ Mixer from 5-7 p.m. at Dollar Bank, 340 Fourth Ave., Downtown. Attendees will have the opportunity to view the restoration of Dollar Bank’s historic lions and the banking floor. Members are asked to bring business cards to meet and greet with fellow Chamber members. This is an event for members and non-members. Registration is required by March 22. For more information, call 412-392-0610 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
(To have information on Business Calendar, send information at least two weeks in advance to: 315 E. Carson St., Pittsburgh, Pa. 15219; Fax: 412-481-1360 or e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .)