DRS employees have been notified that they will be asked to consent to fingerprinting for the purpose of conducting background checks. Federal IRS code was amended to require background checks on all DRS employees who access Federal Tax Information ("FTI") systems. While the State/DRS must follow federal regulations, and the Union cannot amend or even contest federal requirements, the Union has filed an institutional grievance on behalf of DRS employees over the DRS Background Check Policy and Procedures (July 2017) (“DRS Policy”).
In addition, the Union has issued a demand to bargain over the impact of the DRS Policy on those employees who are adversely or otherwise affected by background checks.
At this point, the Union is concerned with several issues, including but not limited to mandatory fingerprinting and background checks (especially for those members who do not handle FTI, and are therefore outside the scope of the IRS regulations); mandatory self-reporting of arrests and pending charges; the lack of a mechanism for employees to review documents collected as a part of records collected; the absence of adequate mechanisms in place to correct errors; and conflicts with the State Personnel Act. We anticipate new issues to arise as we delve into this matter.
Of immediate concern, current employees are being asked to consent to fingerprinting and background checks, the consent form (Authorization to Conduct Criminal History Record Check”) has two choices: “grant authorization” and “refuse authorization”. We have several questions regarding the authorization form, including why employees who have no dealings with FTI would be asked to consent to fingerprinting/background checks, as well as the implications if an employee refuses consent.