Posted by AKC on July 19, 2001, at 6:46:21
In reply to Re: Insurance Mental Illness Hiring Practices » AKC, posted by mist on July 19, 2001, at 1:53:11
> AKC -
>
> Do you know if employers have access to employees' (or prospective employees')driving records and credit reports? I read somewhere that they do but that doesn't seem right either. I can't believe an employer can run a credit check, which reveals personal information, on an employee without their permission and without even telling them.
>
> This whole thing is incredibly creepy to me.
>
> -mistWithout doing some research, I think with credit reports, you do need a person's consent (I think that is now governed by federal law, so it is consistent from state to state). However, I think on driving records, that varies from state to state - some states, those records are still a matter of public record - hence, no permission is needed, while in other states, those records are still private, so permission is needed. I agree, it is kinda creepy.
A private employer may have a right to condition employment upon access to certain records such as driving records. That makes sense if you are going to be a over-the-road truck driver, for instance. The government is more constrained, but also can do so if it make logical sense.
It is funny, I don't think of myself as very paranoid - not one of my many symptoms. And I have a basic core belief in that most people are good hearted. So I think there are very few people that go about trying to track down personal information of others just for the hell of it. But those who do - talk about a mental illness - and talk about needing to be locked up!! Those are the ones I worry about. But I wouldn't get too caught up on this. If a potential employer is into this - I don't know if I would want to work for the creep - I would want to move on to a better employer. Obviously, this doesn't apply if you are already employed and you are in fear of losing your job - no one wants to be out of work. It is a mess. And one that we should not have to put up with.
Your resident hounddog.
poster:AKC
thread:7527
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20010717/msgs/7643.html