ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, May 5, 1996 TAG: 9605030085
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Workplace
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE, N.C.
SOURCE: TAWN NHAN KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Ever file a workers' comp claim? Wrecked a company car? Received a speeding ticket?
Prospective employers can find out if you did. And now, thanks to the Internet, they can do it almost instantly.
The aptly named Informus Corp. makes a living giving curious employers information such as the names and phone numbers of your neighbors. Besides access to workers' comp claims, Informus connects employers to credit bureaus and state agencies that store financial and criminal information.
The 3-year-old Madison, Miss., firm made its Internet debut in January.
For competitive reasons, Informus marketing director Alan Lange wouldn't disclose clients' names or the number of clients Informus has. But he said the customer list includes national household names.
Informus is ``like the Wal-Mart of information,'' Lange said. ``None of the information we sell is information you can't get somewhere else. But you can't get it as fast as we can.''
Indeed, Informus took only minutes to gather the names and phone numbers of my 20 nearest neighbors. That's information even I didn't have after nine months of living next to them.
Informus also pulled up my driving record and six addresses where I have lived since graduating from college. That included three apartments in Philadelphia, one in St. Paul, Minn., and two in Charlotte, N.C. My current address isn't listed in the phone book, but Informus found it anyway.
To be sure, the database search isn't foolproof. Some of the dates attached to my addresses are wrong, and it's likely that some neighbors listed no longer live in my high-turnover apartment complex. But the results are precise enough to give anyone a good scare.
You'll be relieved to know Informus encrypts information shuttling between users and its own computers so that hackers can't intercept it.
Lange admits people can abuse Informus' potential. Recently, Informus canceled an account after someone did an illegitimate credit search on O.J. Simpson. Informus minimizes abuse by screening customers and doing random checks.
``The information is public, and employers have a right to it,'' Lange said.
All information gathered by Informus is from public records - except for credit history, which requires a release from the job applicant. Most workers comp records also are public.
Verifying backgrounds isn't cheap. Informus clients pay a $250 setup fee and a $100 annual fee in subsequent years. Plus, they pay an ``a-la-carte'' fee for each search. My past addresses and driving record cost $8 and $7 respectively.
Verifying backgrounds is also legally risky. It's against the Americans with Disabilities Act for an employer of 15 or more employees to ask applicants about past workers' comp claims. Not hiring you because of your past work injuries also violates the ADA.
Of course, your driving record could be used if the position for which you're applying requires driving. A bank can reject you for a teller job if you have been convicted of embezzling money.
``The safest thing for the employer to do is to seek information which is relevant to the job and which helps determine whether the person can do the job,'' said Landis Wade, an employment attorney at Smith Helms Mulliss & Moore in Charlotte, N.C.
Are the extensive background searches offered by Informus necessary for most jobs? Lange said employers can't afford to not do the searches.
Hiring a person who has a criminal record - even as a $5-an-hour floor sweeper - could be a legal liability if he later attacks co-workers or customers, Lange said.
There are other reasons why pre-employment screening firms are popular, said Kenny Colbert, director of employee and industry relations at the Employers Association in Charlotte. The group offers human resource services to its member employers.
``Every time you pick up the paper, there's a story about someone embezzling money or about workplace violence,'' Colbert said. Plus, many companies turn to third-party investigators because many employers don't give references for ex-employees because of the risk of a slander lawsuit.
Basing hiring decisions on a worker's history has risks, of course. The information found can be false. And if it is true, employers may be liable if they misuse it.
``People are scared to death when they find out something about someone,'' Colbert said. ``If someone was convicted of writing worthless checks 10 years ago, how long can you hold it against them?''
``This is an area of hot litigation right now,'' he said.
LENGTH: Medium: 88 linesby CNB