A wide range of industry groups, from trucking associations to sporting-event organizers, are trying to gain access to the FBI's closely guarded data on suspected terrorists and criminals in an effort to screen their own employees.
The American Trucking Association, for one, is lobbying Congress to give it authority to go directly to the Federal Bureau of Investigation with names and fingerprints of drivers, loading-dock workers, and job applicants of its member companies.
Fueling this push is the supposition that, next time around, terrorists may attack something besides an airplane. But allowing companies to tap into FBI intelligence banks opens a can of worms both for the government and civil liberties advocates. Unions protest that employers could use the system to find old skeletons in people's closets and use them as a pretext for dismissal.
Giving an industry access to the FBI lists typically requires an act of Congress or a new federal regulation. Some industries, such as banking, airlines, and nuclear power plants, already have such success.
Of particular interest to this latest round of companies are the FBI's watch lists of suspected terrorists, including people who may have infiltrated the American workplace years ago as "sleeper" agents. One of these lists, from the State Department, contains 64,000 names from around the World. The FBI keeps its own list and won't say how many people are on it....
Although terrorists typically are trained to avoid detection, at least a few of the Sept. 11 hijackers were on watchlists because their names had popped up in connection with prior attacks: Mohamed Atta had been flagged by the Customs Service, and Khalid al-Midhar was on a CIA list.
FBI background checks should turn up anybody with, among other things, an arrest record, criminal conviction, or protective order filed against them. Not all this information is readily accessible to those outside the agency, and companies are concerned about missing such information in a check on their own...
But truckers and others who want FBI background checks say the pros outweigh the cons. Tony Chrestman, president of the trucking unit of Ruan Transportation Management Systems, says: "Previously, I would never have thought about anyone taking one of our loads of propane and running it into a building. There's got to be improvements to background checks."
Solving the Dilemma
What would you do if you were evaluating the trucking industry's desire for FBI background checks?
I. Allow the trucking industry to obtain FBI background checks.
2. Not allow the trucking industry access to FBI records because such information might
adversely affect employment conditions for potential and existing employees.
3. Allow the trucking industry to obtain limited information (that is, only information pertaining to terrorism) about people.
4. Invent other options. (Explain.)