I like what I do for a living, but hate the direction that the company is taking… do I start looking for a new one?

What kind of company do you work for and what kind of work are the court ordered people doing?
We use court ordered people but are very careful that they have no access to sensitive information.

Here’s the irony… it’s litigation support… we collect records for law firms whose clients are involved in (mostly) product liability cases…

The drug court people are doing ALL SORTS of jobs here, logging in records, making phone calls, setting up cases in the computer system. They have access to names, addresses, dates of birth, social security numbers, insurance id #’s… EVERYTHING that people make an effort to protect.

The ‘big brass’ thinks that they have their collective rear-ends covered because they all have to sign a non-disclosure agreement…

Christine
According to the law, they do have their collective behinds covered if the workers have signed a confidentiality statement.
But, if I were the one making the decisions, I’d be finding them duties that kept them away from sensitive information.

Honestly, you sound very biased against these people.
The majority of which I’m willing to bet aren’t thinking what you assume they are every day.

Back off, see where it goes and get to know them. Chances are you’re freaking out for nothing and could happily stay in your current job.

The most important question, I think, is do these workers have priors for, specifically, identity theft? If so, it is a huge problem. If not, while a scary idea to some, asmonet makes a good point.

Actually, depending on the work situation, there might be reason to keep them from sensitive information regardless of what their background is.
If the company receives any kind if federal funding, they are mandated to keep anyone (with the exception of certified employees) away from sensitive information.
This is the case where I work. Even if Mother Teresa walked in the front door, we would have to escort her to specific areas that are deemed safe for the public and we would have to restrict her from other areas.

DrasticDreamer… yes some do have priors which include fraud… asmonet, you’re right… to an extent. I think that everyone should be given a second chance to make good, but I don’t think that THIS is the place to do it. I’ve checked out the list of offenses of some of them online yes, I was supspect in the first place..it’s public info receiving stolen property, credit card theft/fraud.

I think my fear is A) is the **it going to hit the fan one day legally? or B) is the **it going to hit the fan one day with my clients finding out? (i.e. mass exodus… no work, no job)
I like to be proactive, but am not sure if NOW is really the time for me to start looking

Oh, wow. Well… I think it’s a problem then. It’s not necessarily true that they will become repeat offenders, but if I was one of your clients and I found out… I would no longer be a client. There is no way that I would be willing to take a chance on something like that, considering that identity theft can screw someone’s life up for years.

I don’t know… You might want to consider at least finding a place that you might be able to work in the future. Isn’t that something your entire company could be sued over, should one of the employees become a repeat offender?

I would also consider that while you may have been able to find the charges, you are not privy to the circumstances or details. Just knowing charges doesn’t mean you understand their background. I imagine each one of them went through at least some process to make sure they were not likely to offend again.

I may be more inclined to trust people as I’ve been arrested, and charged with assault and battery as a teen, when I was being attacked and tried to flee multiple times. I was as the cop put it “less emotionally distressed and more physically capable than the alleged attacker” so I deserved to be arrested and charged. My sister – the girl who took a plastic juice pitcher and slammed it into my right temple because she wanted to use the computer – was crying uncontrollably when they arrived and is over four inches shorter than me.

Now, if it was on my adult record, and you just saw that I had been charged with Assault & Battery I’m willing to bet you wouldn’t want to work near me.

Assumptions would be made that do not agree with reality.

I think the type of charge does make a difference. There is no doubt that one class of charges can apply to a wide range of actual incidents and that some accused are innocent. But some experience with drug users has convinced me that as a group they are likely to be untrustworthy because the power of the addiction can be greater than anything else in their lives. Exposing a group of drug offenders to people’s sensitive personal information seems risky in the extreme because every single record has a tremendous potential for exploitation and abuse in countless ways, starting with being a highly saleable commodity.

The company has protected itself from liability but has not protected those whose information they have been entrusted with. I would consider them to be unethical and would not want my livelihood to depend on them in any way; they would do the same to employees—protect themselves and not you.

These workers could be hired and employed in ways that did not endanger the well-being of clients. I am not against hiring them. I am against giving them free rein to exploit sensitive personal information when their records show they may have a high motivation to do so.

I wonder how many other firms follow this practice and how many ex-offenders have their hands on my personal data right now.

If you are uncomfortable with the situation, how could it hurt you to spruce up your resume and quietly look for a position with another company? Once you found one, give notice to your current firm and move on with your life and career.