wow, really? I'm still in school, but of the 10+ or so jobs I've had, (about half of which would be considered "professional"), most have done background checks. This includes places like IBM, William Mercer, n other big companies...

basically, they don't screw around. they have the right to watch their own asses, i believe...as to whether it's an invasion of one's privacy, especially with a third party involved...well, i'd have to say hell yea, it is. i think it's probably the lesser of several possible evils, however...for instance, i think we'd be much worse off if background checks weren't allowed and psychotic shmucks were screwing companies over left and right (well, moreso than they do now)...because then people would begin to get blackmailed from jobs on account of stuff as irrelevant as, say, how dumb their /. posts are.

hiring companies need something to work off of...take what they have away, and they'll just find something else.