Plaintiff applied for a job at Neiman Marcus’s Oak Brook, Illinois, store as an entry-level dress collections sales associate. Ohle was interviewed and was informed that she should expect an offer for the position, pending completion of a successful background check.

Neiman Marcus ran a background check through a third-party vendor. The third party informed Neiman Marcus that Ohle failed her credit check and, on that basis, did not investigate the remaining areas of inquiry. The report indicated Ohle had several civil judgments against her and several accounts in collections. On July 17, 2012, Ohle received a letter from the reporting agency informing her that she failed the credit check and, based on her credit report, she would not be hired. Plaintiff filed this suit individually and on behalf of a class, alleging a claim for violation of the Employee Credit Privacy Act. The legislative synopsis states that the Act “[p]rohibits employers from inquiring about or using an employee’s or prospective employee’s credit history as a basis for employment.” When introducing the act, Representative Franks explained that “hardworking citizens should not be faced with yet another obstacle to obtaining employment based on the credit history that may be simply a reflection of today’s troubled economy.” Companies are “discriminating against potential employees based on their credit history, and that’s absurd.” The act does not prevent an inquiry or employment action if a satisfactory credit history is an established bona fide occupational requirement of a particular position or a particular group of an employer’s employees. The act creates an exemption to allow employers to inquire into and use an applicant’s credit history as a basis of hiring for a position involving “access to personal or confidential information, financial information, trade secrets or national security information.” Defendant argues that an associate’s mere receipt of a credit card application amounts to “access” to confidential information. How should the court rule? Do you believe that Plaintiff’s credit record should bar her from employment? Why or why not?