银行和金融机构有责任对其客户、会员、股东和保险公司进行彻底审查。大多数银行工作都涉及访问金钱和敏感的个人信息。这些因素使得在银行工作对那些可能想偷钱、进行身份盗窃或两者兼而有之的人来说很有吸引力。由于这些威胁，银行在 对所有新员工进行背景调查时往往非常警惕 。
在讨论银行使用的背景调查类型时，首先要考虑的是 FDIC 和第 19 节。
FDIC 或联邦存款保险公司是为美国大多数银行提供保险的组织。第 19 条是《联邦存款保险法》的一项措施，它限制了 FDIC 可以雇用的人员。第 19 条禁止 FDIC 银行雇用“任何因涉及不诚实、背信或洗钱的刑事犯罪而被定罪的人”。“进入与此类犯罪有关的审前转移或类似计划”的候选人或员工也必须被取消资格或被解雇。
银行将使用 犯罪历史检查 来寻找适用于第 19 条的定罪。虽然身份盗窃、挪用公款或欺诈等犯罪是金融机构的首要危险信号，但它们并不是银行正在寻找的唯一定罪。背景调查。大多数银行也在寻找过去的暴力或性相关犯罪问题，作为确保员工工作场所安全的一种手段。
银行背景调查通常会超越犯罪历史。验证检查很常见，以确保候选人在简历中关于教育、 专业证书和 过去的工作是诚实的 。一些银行还使用 信用历史检查 来更多地了解其候选人的财务习惯——尽管并非在全国所有地区对工作进行信用检查都是合法的。
在设计背景调查时，所有银行都必须遵守与其他雇主相同的合规准则， 包括遵守《公平信用报告法》 (FCRA)。银行还应尽可能遵循 平等就业机会委员会 (EEOC) 的指导方针 。但是，由于银行必须遵守第 19 条，因此它们的招聘政策和犯罪记录处理有时可能会对少数群体产生不同的影响。
2018 年， 一名法官 在 EEOC 诉讼中裁定富国银行胜诉，该诉讼指控该公司的招聘行为具有歧视性。尽管存在不同的影响，但富国银行遵守第 19 条的责任最终占据了先例。
conducting background checks on all new hires.
When it comes to discussing the types of background checks that banks use, the first considerations should be the FDIC and Section 19.
The FDIC, or Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, is the organization that insures most banks in the United States. Section 19 is a measure of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act that limits who the FDIC can hire. Section 19 bars FDIC banks from hiring “any person who has been convicted of any criminal offense involving dishonesty, breach of trust, or money laundering.” Candidates or employees who have “entered into a pretrial diversion or similar program in connection with such an offense” must also be disqualified or terminated.
Banks will use criminal history checks to look for convictions that apply to Section 19. While crimes like identity theft, embezzlement, or fraud are top-line red flags for financial institutions, they are not the only convictions that a bank is looking for on a background check. Most banks are also looking for past issues with violence or sex-related crimes as a means of ensuring a safe workplace for employees.
Bank background checks will typically go beyond criminal history. Verification checks are common to make sure that candidates are being honest on their resumes about education, professional credentials, and past employment. Some banks also use credit history checks to learn more about their candidates’ financial habits—though credit checks for jobs are not legal in all parts of the country.
In designing their background checks, all banks must observe the same compliance guidelines as other employers, including following the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Banks should also aim to follow Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidance wherever possible. However, because banks are bound to follow Section 19, their hiring policies and handling of criminal history may sometimes have a disparate impact on minorities.
In 2018, a judge ruled for Wells Fargo in an EEOC lawsuit that alleged the company’s hiring practices were discriminatory. Despite the presence of disparate impact, Wells Fargo’s responsibility to follow Section 19 ultimately took precedent.
