I think it’s fair to say that most background screening companies and the people who use them are generally aware of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the different compliance rules governing background checks. I think most of os realize the difference between public records and private information. It is also safe to say most of us realize that conducting background checks should be conducted for the reasons we are accorded the service.
So here we have an article in Boston.com where two former employees for the Lawrence School Department are under investigation for allegedly running background searches indiscriminately on more than 400 persons. These persons included local officials, actors, sports figures, and the governor of the state.
I think it is safe to say that this type of background searching superseded the normal bounds of preemployment screening. The two allegedly encouraged individual to run their credit accounts and to check up on themselves.
Supposedly the city first aquired the software for the school to keep running tabs on gang members. The city officials never expected this abuse, which needless to say is in violation of city abuse. It is reported that the background reports were not used for illegal purposes.
I suppose you could all this a case of Guys Gone Wild. Minus the skin displays, thank you kindly. Most background screening companies find this a concern, that an employee will start looking up their boyfriends or girlfriends or doing their friends a favor. Employers who grant access to their Human Resources employees must also be concerned with violations of procedure when ordering background checks for preemployment screening purposes.
I’d say this case is a perfect example. Use it as a learning lesson and be careful when you are giving people access to sensitive data of any kind. And always, check them out before you hire.
