Q. I have owned two homes and had perfect credit until I went back to work after having twins on my own and took a job that required me to travel and work 60 hours per week. During that time I incurred company expenses on my personal credit cards and in all honesty was so exhausted with my twins when I was home that submitting expense reports was not my priority. I put the company business first and my personal finances last. I was late several times on my mortgage and other bills. I cannot tell you the degree of stress and exhaustion. It is beyond human comprehension. Nonetheless, I am where I am. I have settled with the credit card companies and am looking for new employment. At what stage can a potential employer do a query on your credit? At the time of application? Or only after they offer you a job?

A. A recent survey found that half of all working age adults didn't know it's perfectly legal for a potential employer to check your credit history at any point in the interview process and to reject you based on the content of that report.

But experts say most companies only do credit checks if the job requires you to handle money or paperwork that provides the opportunity to mismanage funds, such as working in an accounts payable department.

Before employers do that, applicants are usually asked to sign a waiver that complies with the Fair Credit Reporting Act and gives the company permission to do a background check.

When companies do look at an applicant's credit history it's usually late in the hiring process when the choice has been narrowed to two or three candidates.