Audit finds convict has access to private data

RALEIGH - A man convicted of check fraud is on work-release from his prison sentence and working at North Carolina's Employment Security Commission, where he has access to the confidential records of nearly 2,000 employees, according to a state audit released Thursday.

Since taking a position as an office assistant more than a year ago, the convicted felon has helped perform clerical tasks for the human resources department, officials said Thursday. He had performed more than 1,700 searches in an eight-month period through the personnel database, which contains confidential information such as birth dates and Social Security numbers, according to the report.

All those searches appear to be related to the job, said state Auditor Leslie Merritt.

"Although we did not find evidence of improper use of personnel information, we believe granting ... access to this employee, based on his criminal background and ... work-release status, created an unnecessary risk for the commission and its employees," Merritt wrote.

However, the report also found that the office assistant may have spent a significant portion of his work time browsing "singles" dating Web sites, with 1,300 hits logged on his computer. The computer also contained a sexually suggestive image acquired from an online chat session.

Merritt recommended disciplinary action against the employee and urged the commission to review its policies for granting access to confidential information.

While the Employment Security Commission has a policy of providing fair employment consideration to qualified ex-offenders, spokesman Andy James said the organization closely considers the trustworthiness of each applicant.

"This person applied for a job, qualified for the position, and was hired," James said.