Do Background Checks on EMPLOYEES before you hire them.
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FAA expands background check for airport workers.
AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA, has stepped up its security efforts and will now require criminal background checks on up to one million workers with access to secure areas of airports and aircraft.
Jane Garvey, the FAA Administrator, also told a National Press Club audience on 17 October that the government's action of shutting down national airspace after the attacks on the World Trade Center had possibly thwarted more planned hijackings.
The expanded background checks will apply to workers hired before 2000 while regulators already have the authority to require background checks on employees at the USA's 20 largest airports hired after 2000. It is also expected that Congress will be asked to expand that programme. The FAA has also required the revalidation of identification badges worn by airport employees and will match them against FBI watch lists.
The expanded background check programme will take a little while to set up and will include baggage handlers, maintenance employees, aircraft cleaners, caterers and other airline and airport personnel and private contractors with access to areas immediately around and inside an aircraft, according to Reuters.
Garvey indicated that federal funds were now available for airports to purchase fingerprinting equipment.
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