NEGATIVE — EMPLOYMENT — CASE TURNS 341

EMPLOYERS WILL JUST DIG DEEPER FOR OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION

EMPLOYERS USE CREDIT REFERENCES TO DETERMINE EMPLOYEE RELIABILITY

Margaret Graham Tebo, ABA Journal, March, 2000 TITLE: No Peeking: Efforts to restrict monitoring of workers' outside activities gain favor // acs-VT2001

But what does a credit history have to do with someone's fitness for a job as, say, a factory foreman, a secretary or (gulp!) even a lawyer?

"It reflects, or at least is one indicator of, a person's willingness to live up to his obligations," says Hampson, a former chief investigator for the Congressional Legislative Investigating Committee and member of the Illinois Crime Commission. "Responsible employers use this information as the basis for a follow-up interview, where the applicant has the chance to explain discrepancies."

PREVIOUS PRIVACY PROTECTIONS HAVE ONLY MADE EMPLOYERS DIG EVEN DEEPER

Margaret Graham Tebo, ABA Journal, March, 2000 TITLE: No Peeking: Efforts to restrict monitoring of workers' outside activities gain favor // acs-VT2001

Thomas Hampson, who heads Search International Inc., a private investigative firm in Schaumburg, Ill., that does hundreds of background checks each year for companies, says employers increasingly are turning to credit checks, Social Security number traces, school verifications and other information to find out whether an employee is honest and trustworthy.

Such actions are needed, he says, because privacy advocates have succeeded in gaining legislative protection for many of the more traditional avenues employers used to determine applicants' fitness. Indicators of Responsibility

COMPANIES NEED TO GATHER MORE INFORMATION BECAUSE REAL JOB REFERENCES HAVE DRIED UP AND THEY CAN’T USE PRE-HIRE TESTS

Margaret Graham Tebo, ABA Journal, March, 2000 TITLE: No Peeking: Efforts to restrict monitoring of workers' outside activities gain favor // acs-VT2001

Even more significant, companies are being hammered from both sides on the legal issues surrounding hiring.

On one hand, there has been an increase in lawsuits for negligent hiring as well as suits over allegedly defamatory statements made by companies about former employees seeking work elsewhere. Now many companies are skittish about offering anything more than confirmation of past employment and dates of service.

On the other hand, legislation limiting use of lie detectors, certain types of written tests and other predictors such as physical and mental examinations has left some employers scrambling to find other ways to evaluate applicants.