Congress Passes Background Check Bill For Employees

Jan 1, 2005 12:00 PM

An obstacle to the security of America's workplaces has been lifted with the Congressional passing of a measure allowing employers to request FBI criminal background checks on persons applying for or holding positions as private security officers.

The measure is part of the National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004, and its passage is being hailed by ASIS International.

“As unthinkable as it may be to most Americans, individuals have been able to apply for and hold positions in private security while using a false identity or concealing a criminal history,” says Shirley Pierini, CPP, president of ASIS.

Under the new law, which will take effect when signed by the President, employers will not have direct access to the FBI information but will go through state identification agencies that will intercede with the FBI and report back to the employer. Employee rights are protected in that the employer must obtain written approval from the employee to conduct the check, and must share the information received with the employee.

“With about 85 percent of our critical infrastructure in the private sector, it's not difficult to envision a situation where ‘trusted insiders’ in security positions might be able to commit or aid a terrorist act,” says Jack Lichtenstein, ASIS International's director of government affairs and public policy.

The security industry had lobbied Congress vigorously for this legislation, the earliest versions of which date back more than a decade. The legislation was originally aimed at contract security personnel and had been pushed by the National Association of Security Companies (NASCO). ASIS lobbied to have the measure expanded to include “proprietary,” or in-house, security personnel and then worked with NASCO and its members to achieve passage.

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