Some federal employees are smarting over their smart-card treatment. Background investigations of federal and contract workers being conducted for a new government-wide identification card, which carries a computer chip, have drawn objections at two agencies and rumblings of concern at others.

The National Federation of Federal Employees has raised questions about the background checks on behalf of its unionized members at the General Services Administration. Four research scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California have written to members of Congress and contacted NASA officials to make clear their opposition to the background checks.

The Bush administration's goal is to replace the multiple ID cards used in the government with a single "smart" card that will verify a person's identity and give him or her access to federal buildings and permission to log on to government computer networks. The cards are being issued in phases, with agencies facing a deadline of late 2008.

Before cards are issued, federal employees and contractors must provide fingerprints and disclose financial, medical and other personal data. The forms filled out by employees and contractors are matched against databases to verify the information. For some employees holding sensitive jobs, agents are sent to interview neighbors.

Some employees are nervous that they could lose their jobs if their agencies take a dim view of excessive credit card debt, unpaid parking tickets or restraining orders issued in divorce proceedings. Some employees also are concerned about the potential for identity theft if their personal information is stolen or lost from a database.

Charles Paidock, a vice president for the National Federation of Federal Employees in Chicago, said he has been asking: "Are innocent careers going to be damaged as a result of this?"

Federal officials said that the background checks are not new and that most federal employees undergo them when first hired and should have follow-up checks every few years. But, in a change, all contractors -- not just those involved in national security or who handle classified information -- must undergo the background check if they work in federal buildings or have access to federal computers.

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Last update : 15-06-2007 08:03