The Privacy Act is fundamentally concerned with protecting individual privacy. Specifically, the act supports "the principle that an individual should to the greatest extent possible be in control of information about (himself/herself) which is given to the government...principle designed to insure fairness in information collection which should be instituted wherever possible." When conducting personnel investigations, the Privacy Act requires each agency to "collect information to the greatest extent practicable from the subject individual when the information may result in adverse determinations about an individual's rights, benefits, and privileges under Federal programs." In the "Dong" case, one of Ms. Dong's supervisors heard a rumor of misconduct, i.e., that Ms. Dong had taken an unauthorized trip for the agency. The supervisor did not approach Ms. Dong for fear of upsetting her. Rather, Smithsonian supervisors contacted third parties outside the agency and questioned them about Ms. Dong's trip, impugning her reputation in the process. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia held that the Smithsonian acted with a reckless disregard for Ms. Dong's rights under the Privacy Act and awarded her damages and attorneys fees. This case should be a strong wake-up call to Federal agencies regarding procedures for conducting investigations of employees. 33 footnotes