Lessons From McCain's Palin Background Check

Mainstreet dot com ^ | September 4, 2008 | Sean Leviashvili

[Badeye]

Lessons From McCain's Palin Background Check By Sean Leviashvili

Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is five months pregnant, plans to keep the baby and marry the child’s 18-year-old father.

We know all that now, the question is, did John McCain know it before he chose Palin to run as his VP?

That information may have come up in a background check, and the thoroughness of McCain's is being questioned. And what he did, or did not do, before announcing his running mate, holds lessons for any professional, according to career experts. Some may argue that picking a running mate is similar to hiring an employee. How should the background checks compare?

As for the legal guidelines regarding background checks for employers, like most areas of law, they vary based on location. For example, in Kentucky, no consumer reporting agency, which is an investigative agency that falls under the guidelines of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, can maintain any information relating to any charge in a criminal case unless the charge has resulted in a conviction. Meanwhile a consumer reporting agency in Montana, Kansas and New Hampshire can maintain information regarding records of arrests and indictments, with or without convictions, for seven years, according to www.hrliability.com.

And criminal history is just one area employers can delve into. Other areas include credit reports, driving records, references, school records, and others. But what areas are off limits? Can a potential employer pry into a possible employee’s personal life on a job interview?

Again, the answer is unclear. “There is no comprehensive law that says it is inappropriate,” says Pauline Kim, law professor at the Washington University school of law in St. Louis. “Very often there are protections and laws that protect medical information more generally, but not specifically a person’s privacy.”

When it comes to asking about a person’s family before making a hiring offer, it is usually acceptable, she says. “Unless it’s put off limits by a particular law, information about a person’s family that could be known by members of the community is not prohibited.”

On a national level, some legislation limits the extent of job interview questions. For example Title VII, makes it illegal for employers to ask about religion, race, or national origin as part of a hiring decision. (However, the information can be obtained if a potential employee consents in a release form.)

The extent of the background check usually coincides with how closely a potential employee will be connected with the government, says Stephen Brown, founder of HindSight Services, inc., and author of the second edition of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Private Investigating. Employers seeking workers for government agencies will pull information from databases like the Office of Foreign Assets Control Specially Designated National and Blocked Persons database, or the Department of State Trade Control Debarred Parties. But for the everyday worker, most employers won’t spend the money on extensive background checks.

A cheaper alternative are online background checks, but these sources generally don’t meet the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act in that they have a more limited coverage. “The information must be current within thirty days, and should cover a range of counties,” says Brown.

Also, these files won’t disclose information about a potential employer’s family of personal life. But, to bring it back to the McCain camp, should it?

Family members could be an indication of a person’s ability, but it is often out of the employer’s league to make that judgment. “When you’re hiring someone, you’re hiring them, not their family,” says Brown.

One piece of legislation that further separates candidates from their family trees is the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, which was signed in May. The act works to protect Americans against discrimination based on their genetic information when it comes to health insurance and employment.

“With this act, medical information is becoming more private,” says Kim, associate dean for research and development at Washington University Law School. “But as for an employee’s child’s pregnancy, that is not off limits.”

[Badeye]

You obviously ‘get it’.

[norge]

The only thing good thing McCain did during the general election was pick Palin.

You’re a first stringer who tried to play second fiddle to a third stringer. Next time, be the starter.

I don't think he had a clue or gave a hoot, but at least McCain opened the door for Sarah now. It gives her a nudge up, and we and she now know what to expect in four years.

[Delta Dawn]

Huh? Remind me again who the junior senator from mini_HaHa is? Besides, we could always say that our VP could kick your VP’s butt! Oohhh, that would feel so good.

[McGruff]

Seems like ole Barack needs a better background checker.

[Badeye]

He would hurt the ticket, I suspect you realize it.

I like the guy, always have. But the MSM and the DNC would have a field day using soundbites and clips from all those movies.

And that would be the exact opposite of what Palin would need from a potential running mate.

I want to win, next time around. Not be ‘cute’ saw enough of that this election cycle, and look what it got us.

[Badeye]

Both sides do.

[Houghton M.]

Well, I’d say that we don’t know and don’t need to know the answer to your question. If you recall the Palins’ response when the newws first broke: Bristol and Levi have made choices that will face them with having to grow up fast, or something along those lines. That signalled to me that they understood that the kids had messed up big time but that the parents weren’t going to scold their children in public or let the public in on the exact nature of the process by which the parents would deal with the sad situation. I agree that marriage would probably be best for the child but the father and mother of the child need to make the decision to marry as deliberately, with full consent and as much maturity as they can muster at their ages. Neither you nor I are able to judge the details of this situation and I for one don’t want to know the details.

Let the Palins handle this. Period. Pray for them.

[nodumbblonde]

Just for laughs, say these two words with me: Joe Biden

The man is certifiable. But when you’re The Left, you don’t need to vet ANY candidate because, thanks to the MSM, no one will ever know anyway. Geez, half the population will be hearing Obama’s middle name for the first time on Inauguration Day. *sigh*

I hope Palin realizes if she didn’t scare the crap out of them they wouldn’t bother with her. I hope she wears that as a badge of honor. :)

[kabumpo]

I disagree with your point of view. We’re talking about national politics, not “The Days of Our Lives”. When your parent is running for (or could be in the running for) public office, and your parent could be in a position to help save the entire nation, you don’t have the luxury of putting yourself first. By indulging in that luxury, the daughter made herself an object of national scorn and ridicule and undermined her parent’s position as a leader. I have no interest in Bristol’s personal or private life, but she should have bitten the bullet and had a very small and very private wedding as soon as she knew she was pregnant. If she had been my daughter, that’s what would have happened, and if I couldn’t persuade her to, then I wouldn’t think I could persuade a nation to vote for me.