I'm not sure that any court has held that an employer is negligent
   if it does not conduct background checks.  That would be a salient
   point in a lawsuit involving some kind of problem with a substance
   abuse or criminal background.

   There is also a balancing of "rights": the corporate "right" to access
   to personal/private information before hiring, vs the individual
   "right" to privacy.  The latter is a constitutional phrase, is it not?
   But, in any case, this is the kind of thing that courts and judges do,
   so I would think that there is a body of law surrounding this issue,
   with hairs appropriately split and grey areas looming large.

   But, the current wave seems to be, on superficial examination of the
   NY Times and Wall Street Journal, toward corporate "rights."
   Therefore, the old story seems to be true, the best way to assure the
   rights of employees against the rights of corporations is to organize.

   Eric Siegel
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