Dear Joyce: Last week, out of the blue, my manager came around asking everyone in the department to sign a permission paper for a credit check. He said it was routine practice. A few signed, but most of us said we'd get back to him. What about our rights to privacy? -- P.L.J.

Dear P.L.J.: The company should have obtained your permission to be investigated before you were hired, but that's management's call. Unless you're ready to go to court to defend your understandable reluctance to hand over access to your personal information, you'll probably have to agree. If you just say no, the company can find a reason to get rid of you without incurring liability. But there's an upside to this request, and maybe you can negotiate.

What Data Reveals: Consumer reports (credit checks) and related background investigations turn up all sorts of information, chiefly from public records -- addresses back 10 years and people who lived with you, bankruptcies, lawsuits, property ownership and value, professional licenses, previous employment, marriages, divorces, tax liens, criminal past and more, all in addition to how credit-worthy you're rated.

Why It Matters: Employers look at these credit and related investigations for hints about debt-ridden individuals, fearing performance-hampering stress from financial woes, breeches of honesty, character flaws, poor judgment or inadequate management skills.

Shielding You: Management is probably protecting its own hide with this waiver request, suspecting theft, drugs or other illicit activities. But don't jump to the conclusion that management suspects you of the wrongdoing. Management might be launching an investigation and, not wanting to tip off the suspect, might ask everyone to sign.

Another possibility is that the company is trying to protect you. Think of news reports about employees shooting up the place, killing co-workers. If management had probed, mental problems could have surfaced and appropriate actions could have been taken to prevent workplace violence. Or what about an individual who harasses a co-worker? Is management dealing with a serial harasser? It helps to have the big picture. But employers have the classic law-and-order conflict: balancing individual freedoms against the public good.

The Rock: On the one hand, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration requires that employers maintain a safe and secure workplace. Failing to do so might encourage lawsuits.

The Hard Place: On the other hand, the Fair Credit Reporting Act says an employer that investigates someone for employment purposes using a third party -- credit bureau, investigative service (including such online snoop services as U.S. Search.com) or a private detective -- must first obtain the person's signed permission and show the investigated person the unedited report that results. If you have nothing to hide, try not to take the request to sign a waiver personally.

Vigilance Pays: Horror stories abound concerning inaccuracies in credit reports, ranging from mistaken identities to incorrect and damaging information. Correcting credit reports became more difficult with the automation of credit agencies. Because credit data is now so widely used in employment, all those admonitions you hear to regularly check a copy of your own credit report are right on target.

What You Can Do: Even though you understand the company's obligation to secure the workplace, no one wants personal information bandied about. Try negotiating: Present a united front -- the more co-workers you can get to join you, the better -- with the aim of limiting the amount of information you authorize and who sees it. Instead of signing a blanket waiver that says the company has unlimited access to your information, cross out the boilerplate and write in specific authorizations:

I authorize my credit, employment and related personal records to be released from (name of credit bureaus your company uses) for (period of time, say three months) as they relate to my job as (name your position). My records can be accessed only by (name your manager and a designated manager in the human resource department).

Management and its lawyers may shriek, but at least you've put your employer on notice that you don't want your personal information treated casually.

Send career questions for possible use in this column to Joyce Lain Kennedy at Box 368, Cardiff, CA 92007, or e-mail her at jlk@sunfeatures.com. Sorry, the volume of mail makes personal replies impossible.

© 2000, Los Angeles Times Syndicate