Hi kids,
Because I am considering a traveling position in the near future, I have been applying with many companies, etc. One in particular wants me to sign a "pre-employment and disclosure release form". This sounds innocuous enough when just scratching the surface....the usual personal references, etc. However, when reading the fine print, this gives permission for credit history/checks, driving records, address history/ies, public records relating to criminal charges, if any, and an "investigative consumer report, which means a consumer report or portion thereof in which information on a consumer's character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living is obtained through personal interviews with persons having knowledge."
This is done through a company that has been in existence since 1983 as a background investigation company, but since 1993 have been assisting health care facilities in verifying healthcare credentials and healthcare integrity.
It all sounds good, right?
Here's the part that seems NOT OKAY.
If you are denied a job because of false or mis-construed information obtained about you by this "investigative" company, ie, people who may go through your garbage for instance, or who may talk to your neighbors, or who may speak to a former room mate, take pictures of you without your knowledge while you are seen going into a club or pub... speak to a boyfriend/girlfriend, or former teacher, and you have no RE-COURSE for rebuttal, because, this is afterall, ALL CONFIDENTIAL even from you, then it smacks of PROFILING....
To me this is no different than not hiring someone because they aren't the right color, religion, sex, or age......which under the Employment Freedom Act, is ILLEGAL....but doing "background checks" like this are not included in this situation......
How do you all feel about this?
Here is the website of the company.....
http://www.precheck.com/about.shtml
Personally, I find it to be a real invasion of privacy just to get a job!
I am surprised that no one in any major nursing association is questioning this at all.....
Why should an employer have the right to know where you shop, what you buy, who you entertain, what movies you watch, where you eat out, whether you have drinks with dinner, what books you read.....all of this to provide a prospective employer with a "character profile".....?
I can understand needing to know whether or not someone is a felon, whether they are lying about their educational background or credentials.....and finding out that information is completely easy to do without getting "personal"....
Eventhough I am not hiding anything, and I certainly don't have anything in my closet to be ashamed of, I wonder how a seemingly innocent situation could be skewed against me just because I went out with friends to a local pub to hear a good band one evening.....I am not kidding....Is this what hospitals and HR departments are spending their money on??? give me a break!!
I would prefer that the particulars of my divorce not be common knowledge amongst some in HR, whether they are able to keep it confidential or not.....even though it's a matter of public record, why would my employer or potential employer need to know the entirety of my divorce proceedings....including the reasons why I filed, etc?? Here's a list from their website what they look into....
- Criminal records search (county, state, federal, and international)
- Employment history verification
- Credentialing of licenses, certifications and permits
- Education verification
- SSN verification
- Adverse action notification
- Civil records search (county, state, and federal)
- Credit history check
- Motor vehicle reports
- NPDB (National Practitioner Data Bank) – HIPDB (Healthcare Integrity & Protection Data Bank)
- Personal references
- Sanction search of excluded individuals
- Maiden Name / AKA search
- NHDB (National Healthcare Data Bank) cumulative sanction
- screening
I know this sounds almost paranoid, yet, I have to wonder why hospitals would need to know the particulars of my civil court case, ie divorce in order to hire me....or where I go out to eat....or what companies I do business with....
How do you guys feel about this?? crni
Would you like to comment?
