FWIW, every employer I've ever worked for pulled a credit report.

Right or wrong, a bad credit report probably results in bad employment opportunities. It is a legal way of discriminating against the irresponsible (or unfortunate).

The irony is that two of my employers declared bankruptcy to avoid obligations they had entered into. The stigma of "not paying your bills" may have ended with my generation when our employers began strategically declaring bankruptcy to avoid pension obligations while richly rewarding their favored executives. It is now more of a legal issue than a moral concern (and the World is worse off for it).