Tag: Census Bureau

Inspector General Report Finds Census Bureau Background Checks Are Inadequate A report from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has recently revealed that the U.S. Census Bureau’s hiring for the 2020 census included inadequate background checks and a failure to investigate flagged cases further. This, in turn, resulted in the hiring of those with criminal records, which would make them ineligible for federal employment becoming hired to interact with the public directly. The report revealed that almost 7.5% of employees that the Census Bureau hired did not have their cases properly adjudicated, which resulted in many “persons with significant issues working for the Bureau and, in some instances, contacting households.” This even resulted in the Bureau employing a registered sex offender as well as others with a significant criminal history. In preparation for the 2020 Census, the Bureau hoped to hire two million workers to help it complete the job. In order to do this, the Bureau issued 900,000 jobs right before beginning work. Unfortunately, between inadequate preparation and disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, immense disorganization resulted, which in addition to other issues, now appears to have caused inadequate background checks coupled with a large backlog of investigations. According to the OIG, this may in part have been caused by the sheer bulk of cases investigative workers were charged with reviewing, resulting in some issues being overlooked. The Bureau’s number of employees reached its peak in August 2020, close to 300,000 workers. However, according to the report, the Census Bureau’s ineffective oversight resulted in many “unsuitable individuals working in positions of public trust” as well as accessing sensitive information. In November 2019, the backlog of cases in which employee background checks had been flagged for significant issues had grown to almost 300 cases, and yet the employees were allowed to continue working without further consideration. By December 2021, the number of cases that were backlogged without a final determination had reached 5,484, with some originating from 2014. The Census Bureau has made a written response to the report stating that it has already begun making changes to improve its screening process. This includes conducting pre-employment screening of candidates for employment with fingerprinting performed in conjunction with the FBI. According to the Census Bureau’s Strategic Plan for the coming years, “The Census Bureau recognizes that data security is imperative to the success of our mission. We will continue to earn public trust by upholding the integrity we’ve been known for since our inception.” Pre-employ makes background checks easy and reliable Get in touch with a sales representative today. Source

Tag: Census Bureau

Inspector General Report Finds Census Bureau Background Checks Are Inadequate

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