Board Mandates Background Checks For Those Accessing Tax Info

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The Board of Supervisors Tuesday adopted a policy mandating that employees, contractors and subcontractors who are involved in Riverside County government undergo background checks, complete with fingerprint scans, if they are in a position to access residents' federal tax information.

The policy, C-37, was approved unanimously without comment and was recommended by the Department of Human Resources based on recently published IRS standards that call for increasing safeguards to prevent people's federal tax returns from being misused.

"The policy will ensure the security of federal tax returns and return information submitted by the public when applying for county assistance," according to a human resources statement posted to the board's agenda.

The new personnel security program will entail a thorough background investigation that delves into court records, citizenship or workplace eligibility verification and fingerprint scans that will be submitted to the FBI.

The county's public safety agencies already conduct background checks as part of their screening process for all new hires.

The general government agencies likely to be immediately impacted by the new policy are the Child Support Services and Public Social Services departments, according to the HR department.

The background checks will be valid for 10 years, after which new checks will have to be conducted.

— By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock