If you are worried about people discriminating against you because you filed bankruptcy, there is some good news. Sections 524 and 525 of the Bankruptcy code prohibit the government from discriminating against you in any way due to bankruptcy.
For instance, federally-backed student loan companies cannot refuse to extend you a student loan because you filed bankruptcy, and government employers cannot fire you or refuse to hire you for that reason. The BMV cannot refuse to reinstate your driver's license due to bankruptcy, and is in fact required to waive any reinstatement fees that otherwise would have been necessary to get your license back. The government also cannot discriminate against you for by refusing to give you a license to sell real estate, license to practice law, or other license that is necessary to work in your chosen profession.
Who Can Discriminate Against You After Bankruptcy
That being said, private companies and obviously creditors can discriminate against you because of bankruptcy. There is nothing in the law that says a private employer cannot have a policy that says they will not hire a person who filed bankruptcy.
Nevertheless, I've interviewed thousands of people in the Cleveland-area about their debt problems and the only time I have ever heard of someone complaining that they were discriminated against was someone who applied for a job driving an armored truck. The armored truck company did not feel comfortable hiring someone who might not have good financial management skills and who therefore might get into debt problems again and be vulnerable to taking bribes or doing other dishonest things in order to solve those debt problems.
Companies May Already Be Discriminating Against You
Keep in mind not only can private companies discriminate against you for filing bankruptcy, but they can also discriminate against you for not paying your bills on time. In a tight labor market, employers can afford to be pickier about who they're willing to hire, and many of them have started pulling people's credit reports to try to find out more information about applicants.
So, if you need to file bankruptcy but you decide not to because you are afraid employers will discriminate against you, you are overlooking the fact that they are probably already discriminating against you due to your poor credit history. If bad credit is preventing you from getting a job, rather than being a handicap bankruptcy can be a powerful way to start over and get your credit back up to where it needs to be.
See more information about how bankruptcy affects your credit.
