The News-Tribune in Tacoma, Washington weighs in with a story about the impact of the anti-terrorism background checks on businesses. These businesses are connected with airports like Sea-Tac.
Problems with a new federal background check for potential airport employees could slow baggage delivery, delay cargo shipments and cut the hours of airport vendors at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and other airports throughout the country as the holiday travel season approaches. At Sea-Tac alone, more than 400 new hires are awaiting clearance from the federal Transportation Security Administration before they can be issued badges that allow them to work beyond the airport’s security checkpoints. Some of those newly hired workers have been waiting since Oct. 1 to see whether they passed the federal government’s security muster to work in secure areas of the airport. That’s the date that the TSA imposed a requirement that new hires pass not only a regular criminal background check but a new terrorism database search before they receive a security clearance.
If you’ve got a business that’s tied to an airport, you should dig deeper on this issue. You may have to do some contingency planning.
If you don’t have an airport-connected business, there’s no direct impact of the Homeland Security requirements, but there are lessons to be learned.
Even if your background check process isn’t as rigorous as what the government’s going for, it can still pose a dilemma for you. You don’t want your background check to get in the way of hiring someone you want, but you also need that check to help you assure that the person is what they represent themselves to be.
Do your background check early enough in the process that it won’t hold things up. Yeah, I know, with a service like SentryLink’s, the check is almost instantaneous. But the analysis and follow-up are still important and they take time.
If you wait too long, you’ll be tempted to hire before your background check process is complete. Don’t give in to that temptation. Bad hires are very hard to undo.
where can i apply for the job
I am intrested in working at the airport as a security officer
I have a 20 year old felony conviction of a marijuana incident. I am applying for a restaurant job through security at an airport. Will this disqualify me from getting a badge?
im 23 yrs old and im jus lookin for a job i can work at without a backgorund check because i really need a job im very experience in alot of areas customer service nd etc.so i you can can you tell me how to apply for this job.