I went to Las Vegas last week and had a great time.

No, no, not that type of great time. More like we went to shows, we gambled, we ate a lot, drank some and hung around the pool with people who are much prettier than I am. And no, I didn’t get tan at all. What a waste.

Anyway, Las Vegas sort of embraced its seediness with an ad campaign developed several years ago that what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

I am sure their police force really appreciates the message it sends since it seems that every time I go to Las Vegas, I see some guy with a shaved head punching a fatter guy in the face or some booze hound getting pulled over for another DUI. Then there is the silent desperation of compulsive gamblers but that seems a little less obvious to me.

Aside from commiserating with police, I have to wonder exactly what these people’s employers think of all of this. If they are lucky, they might find out about it because Johnny comes in with a black eye. Or he calls in sick from the Clark County Jail. My feeling is, most employers don’t hear about what happens in Vegas (nor anywhere else).

While there are some legal concerns, some employers have been checking backgrounds on employees after they are hired on some sort of regular basis. There are a couple of schools of thought that play out here:

Some people think it is a little “Big Brother” like. After all, if an employee is performing well and isn’t missing an inordinate of time, how is that different than a parent with a sickly kid? Besides, companies are involved enough in our lives, dominating 40-50 hours a week. Why should they have to know everything about us?

Some others think that if someone can’t get a job here with a conviction, why would that change if you are a current employee? So you won’t let the felon get a job here but once they get here, they can have anything else happen? It doesn’t seem to make sense and it scream of inconsistency.

I have seen a semi-annual or annual background check work legally as long as you clearly state it is a condition of continued employment (not a lawyer here, just telling you what I observed).

What are your thoughts on this? Should we allow what happens in Vegas to stay in Vegas (no matter what) or should we play mini Big Brother and enforce guidelines over the entire organization?