ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) -
"We will keep your information secure."
That is the mantra Shawn Poole has based his company's reputation on. The CEO of Employ Bridge said keeping employees personal information secure is a top priority. But a little more than a week ago, CBS Atlanta started asking Tough Questions about one of Employ Bridge's companies after thousands of documents containing personal information were found in a Gwinnett County recycling dumpster.
Poole said he saw a story on CBS Atlanta about the situation and he started an investigation.
"We couldn't figure out how that could have happened, so what we did was we went and talked to each of our branch offices here in Metro Atlanta to see if they had disposed of any records over the weekend and really the last six months. The answer was no," said Poole.
Poole said after investigating further he learned the documents were taken from a Alpharetta office without the company's knowledge or permission.
"The lease ends in February of this year and the landlord was under the impression it ended on Dec. 31 and he sent a cleaning crew in there to clean out the offices," Poole said.
CBS Atlanta reporter Bernard Watson who broke the story spoke to Poole about the situation.
"Is that a secure place to leave the files," Watson said.
"Well, we think all our offices are secure. They are under lock and key and the cabinet themselves were under lock and key and that is our normal operating procedure. We don't expect anyone to break into our offices and steal files," said Poole.
CBS Atlanta tried contacting Tempo Real Estate Corporation to ask Tough Questions about its actions, but the calls were not returned.
"Certainly the landlord put us in a difficult situation," Poole said.
The situation could get worse. The Governor's Office of Consumer Protection is investigating whether any laws were violated and investigators said fines could be levied. Poole said because his company is doing its best to contact people whose information may have been compromised. He has promised to help them protect themselves.
"We are just as frustrated as probably they are that this type of information has been exposed to public view," Poole said.
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