Here is da scoop:

Under the new law, Oregon employers will no longer be able to use credit history as a factor in hiring, firing, demoting or suspending employees, unless they can establish that it's substantially related to the job. ... She said the most convincing testimony during hearings on the bill came from a credit agency representative who said there was no link between scores and job performance. Credit agencies are paid to check credit histories for employers and will lose business with the new law.

Repeat:

There is no link between credit scores and job performance.

Republicans, of course, begged to differ:

Senate Minority Leader Ted Ferrioli, R-John Day, also voted against the law. Credit reports "may be more valuable than a degree, school transcript or letters of recommendation in deciding whether or not to hire an applicant and allow them to have access to inventory, company assets and company proprietary information," he said in an email. "The credit report might disclose a pattern of disputes with businesses, bad checks, broken promises and other issues that indicate the applicant would not be a good risk."

Oh, please.

Republicans like credit checks for the same reason that Human Resources staff like them:

They are part of a culture where the capricious use of power over others is the main thrill that life has to offer. It is part of a broad cultural change where the many have been forced to cede more and more power to the few. That's all. It has nothing to do with your work on the job.

Anyway.

I don't want my employer looking at my personal finances -- which is what your credit record represents -- because it is none of his or her damned business. I don't want to be asked in an interview how much I owe on my house, or how many cars I have or whether I'm divorced. And I don't want employers to get that information by way of my credit record.

Nice to see that at least one state has this right.