Jobs That Require You To Have a Criminal Background Check

Introduction

Nowadays, running criminal background checks is standard practice for employees before hiring or even promoting employees. There are many justifications to these. One reason is that the cost of a criminal background check has significantly gone down in recent years making it affordable for employers. In addition, establishing the identity of a potential employee is crucial to determine that the person has no criminal records, convictions and to ascertain the veracity provided on the data sheets. Employers are cautious and do not want to be sued due to the actions of their staff. Nearly all jobs in US states require a criminal background check if only to establish the accuracy of information that was submitted.

History

Criminal background records are documents compiled and shared at local, state, and federal levels to establish the criminal history of an individual. Criminal records of sexual offenders are usually made public and the Department of Correctional Services disseminate this information. Thus, every individual's criminal records can be made public. The only groups of people exempted from this rule are juveniles and individuals whose records are expunged. Expunging records or record sealing can only be done by court orders.

Features

Criminal background checks can serve many purposes such as in the adoption process, employment, criminal investigations and prosecutions to name a few. They also serve to identify the person. When a person is being promoted or is applying for a job, criminal background checks are done by most employers to ensure that potential workers and current workers have no criminal records. Employers are more cautious nowadays to avoid ‘negligent hiring’ lawsuits since they are ultimately liable for the actions of employees. To avoid these potential lawsuits that can ruin the reputation and financial standing of employers, criminal background checks are required before hiring anyone to work for the company. With recent terrorist attacks in the US, employers are also cautious in hiring making sure that their employees are not fugitives, murderers or silent terrorists.

It’s not only employers in the private sector who are running criminal background checks. State and federal governments also require background checks on potential civil servants. Under federal and state laws, it is mandatory to run a criminal background check on those who are working with children. The alarming incidence of child abuse, abduction and negligence brought this to light and in a move to protect children, criminal background checks are compulsory. Thus, almost all states have passed and approved laws requiring all those who work with children to be investigated and obtain security clearance. The National Protection Act is the legal basis for this authority. State officials can access the data base of the FBI’s National Crime Information Center. It is also mandatory to do a criminal record investigation on people who work with the elderly or the handicapped/disabled. Even corporate officials or those earning more than $75,000 in a year are subject to mandatory criminal background investigation. This came about in the light of the Enron scandal and other corporate fiascos.

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