Idaho state legislators who fancy a bill to allow public agencies from city hall to the Statehouse to conceal the names of job applicants are lending their hands to creating more secrecy in government and less public access to public business.
House Bill 570 provides that "an applicant's name shall not be disclosed to the public without the applicant's written consent unless such disclosure is part of an established hiring process."
The reasoning behind the legislation—that co-workers who compete for the same opening will be relieved of harm or embarrassment—is hardly conducive to public confidence in government. The rationale also totally misses the opportunities for abuse—hiring ill-suited or unqualified applicants before public watchdogs can fact-check their backgrounds.
The logic for more secrecy is a kissin' cousin to arguments of some Republican lawmakers that closed-door committee meetings are more efficient because differences can be hashed out without nosy spectators or media.
Secrecy is at the center of virtually every crisis emanating from Washington, D.C. Secrecy took an even sillier turn this week with disclosures that the CIA and Defense Department are reclassifying documents from the 1950s as secret—even documents that academics and writers published long ago.
The ability of the public to scrutinize backgrounds of applicants is an essential element of transparency in government, and a vital backstop to ferreting out the unsuitable before they're hired.
Workers who prefer secrecy in applying for jobs would leave the uncomfortable impression they also would prefer secrecy after being hired.
