Background Check Requesting Previous Personnel Files?

[MChris9603]

Hi everyone,

I recently got a conditional employment offer with a county jail pending my background investigation. From what the county is telling me is that the Sheriff's Department is going to call my past employers and ask for my personnel file to be sent to them. Out of curiosity, has anyone else here experienced this? I can't really see all of my past employers going through the effort of copying and mailing the entire personnel record to the county. This just sounds fishy to me.

Anyone have any thoughts?

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

Not surprising, if you are going to work in corrections.

I took a position working with a certain federally funded research agency (which is one). They required a list of every place that I had ever worked and every address that I have ever lived at, to the best of my knowledge.

Given the nature of the workplace, I am not surprised, given the security risk.

[ddunnrn]

It sounds a bit overboard to me, even tho I worked in a city jail system. They have a right to know if your application was accurate, and if you ever broke the law or were subject to legal discipline, but your work records are confidential. I would consult a lawyer. Why do they need to know if you were written up for lateness or absence or similar things?

[Rob72, ASN, RN]

It sounds a bit overboard to me, even tho I worked in a city jail system. They have a right to know if your application was accurate, and if you ever broke the law or were subject to legal discipline, but your work records are confidential. I would consult a lawyer. Why do they need to know if you were written up for lateness or absence or similar things?

Determining your, "compatibility with compromise." I'm assuming they've already asked if you're afraid of dirt or have fantasies about your mother and father (MMPPT). If your past employers have anything more revealing to say, I would think you have other problems to deal with...

[prisonnurse02]

That sounds like a load of crap to me. They will do NCIC checks and possibly credit checks, but I don't think what you are saying even sounds legal, much less feasible.