Opaque Lucidity

Right To Know / Right To Snoop

More and more, we live in a world in which privacy is a fantasy. As I write this, much of my life resides in dozens of databases all over the United States (and maybe overseas). Every public accomplishment and failing of my life is out there somewhere. With enough time and money, you could find out about my credit rating, employment history, education level, military record, criminal record (if I had one), insurance history and on and on and on. If you were willing to bend and/or break the law, you could learn about past relationships, possible frailties and personal vendettas. The only privacy any of us really has is in our own mind.

Many of you reading this have agreed to a background check in order to be considered for a job. This has been routine for years in many industries, but it's becoming the price of admission almost everywhere. This and drug testing have become the two things a potential employer can do to try to weed out the less-than-ideal candidates from the running. Thus is our world; to live in it, we have to accept these realities.

How much does your employer have the right to know about you? When I was in the Navy, I applied to change rates and become a type of cryptological technician. This job required an extensive background investigation and it wasn't long until I learned that the local FBI office spoke to my parents' neighbors and some of my teachers about me. It made me feel sort of naked, but I understood that this was a necessity when the DoD was going to trust me with things that are classified above Top Secret. After all, we're talking about national security and the Navy had been burned rather badly in the Walker spy ring a few years before.

But what about civilian employers? Do they have the right to know that you use illegal drugs on the weekends? Do they have the right to know about your credit score? What if you and your spouse are swingers? What if you're gay? What if you owe back taxes? The list goes on and on.

Some of these questions have seemingly simple answers. For example, I think we can all agree that we don't want airline pilots and truck drivers sucking down a spliff or a gram of coke before work. Also, I think it's OK that employers make sure daycare workers aren't formerly jailed child molestors. There's common sense at work here, but as you move further and further away from the obvious, a fog begins to descend on the question.

So I ask you, mister and misses reader: what's your comfort level with this kind of thing? How much do you think your employer knows about you? Do they know too much? Should there be limits applied to all employers, or should some industries have more leeway than others?