Why rules may be bad for business
Why curbing state access rules may be bad for business
By Debbie Blossom
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Published: March 19, 2008
The Oklahoma Supreme Court rules that curb access to personal information in court records could be a death sentence for one Oklahoma City business.
David Blanton's 2-year-old employment screening firm — PreHire Screening Services — performs pre-employment criminal background checks for clients, including many
Oklahoma businesses.
But Blanton said his company won't be able to do its job if he can't accurately match and confirm individuals with background information.
The court's recent decision will remove court filings from the Internet and prohibit anyone from filing court records with personal identification information such as bank accounts, Social Security numbers, birth dates and home addresses. The rules are scheduled to go into effect June 10.
Blanton said even if he has to make time to check filings at courthouses instead of getting them online, the greater issue is that he won't be able to retrieve a complete birth date.
"As a background screening company, we depend on the full date of birth as a primary personal identifier to confirm that a criminal record belongs or does not belong to an individual,” Blanton said. "If we're not positive that a criminal record belongs to an applicant,” PreHire Screening Services can't make an accurate recommendation to clients.
Supreme Court justices said their decision stems from growing concerns about identity theft. But Blanton believes clients instead will end up hiring violent offenders because nothing showed up on a background check that could legally be reported.
"I can't see any way you can steal an identity with a date of birth and a full name,” he said. And the consequences for making a misjudgment would be severe.
"We would be sued if we made a mistake. I don't think we could stay open. There's going to be a lot of lawsuits, I guarantee.”
The ruling could pose drawbacks, said
Mike Seney with The State Chamber.
Human resources specialists often must complete background checks, he said, and for agencies such as child care centers where they are required, the problem is complying with the law without access to pertinent data.
"It's a complex issue,” Seney said, and hopefully, the ruling may be revisited before June. "I think there's a law of unintentional consequences in effect here.”
Oklahoma City attorney
Bob Wyatt said he is in favor of the new policy.
"In my opinion, the Supreme Court ruling is correct, and what's being eliminated is only personal information,” Wyatt said. "The state is protecting itself from litigation.”
If employers need background information on job applicants, they can pay a $15 fee to the
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to request a check that includes a complete date of birth.
"All they do is go to a different place,” Wyatt said. "It's now just more difficult ... and it's not free.”
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