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Commission declines insurer'recommended five-year federal rechecks; opts for preemployment checks
Summary
After a lengthy debate about practicality and employee relations, Fallon County commissioners voted to decline Travelers' recommendation that certain staff undergo federal background rechecks every five years; they agreed to tighten preemployment screening using a commercial vendor.
Fallon County commissioners voted to decline an insurer'recommended requirement that county employees with unsupervised access to juveniles or the elderly submit to federal background checks every five years.
County HR staff and a Travelers representative had presented the recommendation and explained that Travelers would reduce the county's abuse-and-molestation coverage from $1,000,000 aggregate / $500,000 per occurrence to $250,000 per year if the county declined the policy change. Staff estimated the cost of federal screening at roughly $18.85–$20 per person and outlined a vendor approach that checks criminal history across states where an applicant lived in the last seven years.
Supporters of the insurer recommendation argued it would reduce long-term liability and was inexpensive per check. Opponents on the commission raised concerns about the logistics and fairness of subjecting incumbent employees to mandatory five-year rechecks and worried about staff morale and potential legal exposure if employees refused the rechecks.
After discussion, a motion to decline Travelers' five-year recheck requirement passed by voice vote; commissioners noted they would continue to require preemployment criminal-history screening and could adopt an affirmed written policy moving forward while using a commercial screening vendor for hires. Staff said they would still pursue federal-level checks for new hires because the vendor service is faster and cheaper than ad-hoc DOJ requests.
Why it matters: The decision balances insurance limits and administrative burden. Insurer recommendations can affect coverage limits; the commission chose to preserve current practices for incumbent employees while tightening preemployment screening procedures.
What's next: County HR will adopt a vendor-based preemployment federal check for new hires, prepare an abuse-and-molestation policy draft for the commission to review and confirm whether limited categories of positions will be included in future periodic checks.
