Less than most people fear, never without your permission, and in many states not at all.
The three facts. An employment credit report contains no credit score. It can only be ordered with your written authorization, on a separate form. And before any decision based on it, the employer must give you a copy and a summary of your rights.
Employers who order a credit check get a modified version of your file: accounts and balances, payment history, collections, public records such as bankruptcies, and identifying information. What they do not get: your credit score, your account numbers, your date of birth, and, since the bureaus changed their employment products, your year of birth and spouse information. Nothing in the report tells them your income.
Credit checks for hiring are far less common than background checks. They are concentrated in roles with access to money or sensitive data: finance, accounting, cash handling, executive positions, and jobs requiring a security clearance. Most staffing and hourly roles never involve one. Employers cannot pull the report themselves; a consumer reporting agency does it, after collecting your signed authorization.
Eleven states restrict employment credit checks: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington, plus cities including New York City, Chicago and Philadelphia. The rules differ, but the usual shape is a ban except for narrow exceptions such as jobs with significant financial responsibility or legal requirements. If you are applying in one of those places and are asked to authorize a credit check for an ordinary role, you can ask which exception applies.
Look at your own report the way the agency would: collections, late payments in the last two years, and public records are what an employer sees first. Errors can be disputed for free and usually clear within 30 days. If there is something real and recent, a short honest explanation offered up front works better than letting the report speak alone.
My Credit shows your accounts, collections and public records with an "employer view" note, and explains what to fix or dispute first. Soft inquiry, shown only to you. Check your credit.