Background Check Bill Would Help Future "Joe the Plumbers"

A new bill would help discourage improper background checks in the State of Ohio.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Shannon Jones, R-Springboro, in the House of Representatives, would cause any state employee or agency who makes an improper background check to be fired and/or charged with a first-degree misdemeanor. A Senate companion to the bill is being sponsored by Sen. Mark Wagoner, R-Toledo.

“Ohioans should not have to fear that by exercising their free speech rights that state government will turn its databases against them,” Jones said in an article by The Columbus Dispatch. “The systematic misuse of government databases and the governor’s woeful under reaction to state government workers engaging in this outrageous behavior make this bill necessary.”

If passed, the bills would:

• set the criteria for determining which employees can access or authorize access to confidential, personal information
• list valid reasons for accessing information
• fire any unclassified employee who violates the rules by improperly accessing information
• record each specific access by employees of state agencies to confidential personal information
• provide notice to citizens whose confidential personal information has been improperly accessed
• allow a citizen to make a written request to an agency to identify all personal confidential information on that person maintained by the agency

The bills also would allow anyone who is harmed by an improper records search to sue the person or agency responsible.

The bills came about after Ohio Inspector General Thomas P. Charles found that Helen Jones-Kelley, director of the Department of Job and Family Services, had no legitimate reasons to check the background of Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, a Toledo-area resident better known as "Joe the Plumber" by Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

Charles also found that Jones-Kelley improperly used her state e-mail account to raise campaign money for President-elect Barack Obama. Gov. Ted Strickland placed Jones-Kelly on a one month unpaid suspension, and four other employees at the agency also were punished.

Comments

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[Timothy Prenner]

this article was really helpful but it should be noted that there are inexpensived ways for a wage earner to background check themselves i use http://www.choicelevel.com it helped me because i was able to find out what an employer may can find out

tim

[Search For People]

this is a nice bill. in case it will pass the house of representative, this will protect all person against identity fraud and other malicious acts.