The anthrax outbreak at American Media in Boca Raton and the Sept. 11 terror attacks might lead employers to examine potential hires more carefully, says former CIA agent Fred Rustmann.

     "Companies are very, very lax about background checks," said Rustmann, who is chairman and chief executive of West Palm Beach corporate intelligence firm CTC International.

     While no evidence emerged last week that the anthrax death at American Media was an inside job, that incident and the terrorist attacks have made employers more concerned about security.

     Often, companies have worried that digging too far into applicants' pasts would spark lawsuits, he said. Yet not checking out prospective employees can be far riskier.

     Al Dunlap, for instance, neglected to mention when he was being recruited to run Sunbeam Corp. that he had been fired twice in the 1970s - something a thorough check would have uncovered. Sunbeam fired Dunlap, but only after the company's stock plunged amid questions about the accuracy of its accounting.