We all know and understand the importance of conducting background checks in this day and age. We would not want someone with a history of violent acts or sexual crimes to work in the next cubicle, to come into our homes or, heaven forbid, to have access to our children either at school or through a sports activity. But where do we draw the line when it comes to permissible purposes for background checks?
If you recall, shortly before the last presidential election, a scandal erupted when it was revealed that the Director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services had looked into the background of Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher (also affectionately known as, “Joe the Plumber”) simply because he expressed an opinion. The Ohio Inspector General determined last month that Helen Jones-Kelley had no legitimate reason to use government databases to perform this background check, and she was placed on a one month unpaid suspension by Governor Ted Strickland.
Is this punishment enough? Joe the Plumber was not applying for a federal job or running for elected office. We are a country which was founded on the principle of free speech, and average citizens should not have to fear that by exercising this right, the government will turn its databases against them.
Some members of the OH State Legislature obviously feel the same way. New bills which are being sponsored by Rep. Shannon Jones (R-Springboro) and Sen. Mark Wagoner (R-Toledo) would set criteria for determining which state employees would have access to confidential, personal information and would make it a crime to access this information improperly (dispatch.com reference article). The bills would also require a state agency to notify any citizen whose confidential, personal information has been improperly accessed and to provide the individual with the opportunity to make a written request to identify all information which is maintained by the agency.
One would like to think that measures like this are already in place – that our personal, confidential information is safe with the government. However, this is apparently not the case in every state.
