A Vital Step Towards a More Productive and Effective Agency

The federal government is undertaking significant measures to enhance its personnel vetting procedures through the implementation of continuous vetting requirements for a larger segment of the federal workforce. Recognizing the importance of ensuring that individuals in positions of public trust maintain the highest levels of integrity, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has issued directives to federal agencies to implement continuous vetting procedures for employees in non-sensitive public trust positions, which include high and moderate risk levels. This new requirement will cover jobs in public safety and health, law enforcement, and other roles that require significant public trust.

The continuous vetting process involves conducting regular and ongoing background checks on federal employees at any given time, using automated record checks of their credit history, criminal records, and other relevant information. By doing so, this modernized vetting process helps identify any potential issues, such as an arrest or other negative records, that may jeopardize an employee’s continued employment. While continuous vetting procedures already exist for national security agencies, the Trusted Workforce 2.0 initiative aims to expand these vetting processes government-wide. This initiative will apply to federal employees in the competitive and accepted service, federal contractors, and Department of Defense (DoD) employees, further strengthening the integrity of the federal workforce.

The implementation of continuous vetting is expected to provide several benefits for agencies, including easing the burden when employees move to new positions or organizations and detecting potential personnel issues early on. OPM is also currently finalizing regulations for continuous vetting procedures for low-risk federal employees, which are expected to be less extensive.

Overall, this initiative reflects the government’s unwavering commitment to improving personnel vetting procedures and ensuring the continued trust of the public in the federal workforce. By enhancing continuous vetting, the government is taking proactive steps to ensure that individuals in positions of public trust maintain the highest levels of integrity, thereby safeguarding the public interest.

Chainbridge Solutions offers an affordable and modern turnkey solution that provides agencies with a real-time view of their workforce, allowing for ongoing vetting and monitoring of employees to ensure compliance and enhance security measures.