Background checks while trans*
September 17, 2014 9:52 AM Subscribe
I know that YANML, but does going through a background check to work in a state-licensed childcare center in New Mexico require that you disclose your legal name change? If so, who sees this disclosure: just the background check company, the state, or the potential employer?
To work at a childcare center, you need to have fingerprinting and background checks done. I have virtually no idea what the process is like, but I'm not particularly interested in unnecessarily coming out as trans to the staff at the childcare center that I'm applying for. I legally changed my name when I was under 18 and lived in a different US state. This was roughly 10 years ago. My gender is also legally changed. The name change is reflected on all of my documents except for my birth certificate (tax paperwork is not a concern—said documents include a US passport, out of state drivers license, and a social security card).
I have no criminal record (no arrests), so the only things that even might show up on a background check are speeding tickets and a violation in another state (open container, not a misdemeanor in the state that it occurred in). All of these things that might show up happened at least two years after my legal name change. I have never been fingerprinted for any reason.
I'm not sure that I would even show up as existent on a background check in my home state from before my legal name change—the first times that I was ever on a utility bill, lease, or issued a speeding ticket all were after the name change and in states that are not the home state.
TL:DR When it asks if I've gone by other names on the New Mexico background check paperwork, do I need to disclose my underage name change? If so, does my potential boss have to know?
To work at a childcare center, you need to have fingerprinting and background checks done. I have virtually no idea what the process is like, but I'm not particularly interested in unnecessarily coming out as trans to the staff at the childcare center that I'm applying for. I legally changed my name when I was under 18 and lived in a different US state. This was roughly 10 years ago. My gender is also legally changed. The name change is reflected on all of my documents except for my birth certificate (tax paperwork is not a concern—said documents include a US passport, out of state drivers license, and a social security card).
I have no criminal record (no arrests), so the only things that even might show up on a background check are speeding tickets and a violation in another state (open container, not a misdemeanor in the state that it occurred in). All of these things that might show up happened at least two years after my legal name change. I have never been fingerprinted for any reason.
I'm not sure that I would even show up as existent on a background check in my home state from before my legal name change—the first times that I was ever on a utility bill, lease, or issued a speeding ticket all were after the name change and in states that are not the home state.
TL:DR When it asks if I've gone by other names on the New Mexico background check paperwork, do I need to disclose my underage name change? If so, does my potential boss have to know?
Give the Transgender Resource Center a call to see whether there's any local precedent.
posted by Etrigan at 10:06 AM on September 17, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by Etrigan at 10:06 AM on September 17, 2014 [5 favorites]
Call up the Transgender Resource Center. If you're asking for legal information or advice, then mistaken advice is often worse than no advice at all.
Either way, do a background check on yourself, to see what comes up.
Best of luck.
posted by Sticherbeast at 10:10 AM on September 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
Either way, do a background check on yourself, to see what comes up.
Best of luck.
posted by Sticherbeast at 10:10 AM on September 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
It is routine on all security checks I've had done, both for work and volunteering, to disclose any previous legal names. Sorry. I think you need to find a way to deal with this.
posted by bonehead at 10:20 AM on September 17, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by bonehead at 10:20 AM on September 17, 2014 [2 favorites]
FWIW, I have never had my old name come up in any background check (as far as I know) for any of my non-childcare work. My employers did of course do a background check, but the copies of those that I've gotten do not have any records of my old name on them.
YMMV, please contact your Transgender Resource Center, but that's this trans girl's experience.
posted by trogdole at 10:29 AM on September 17, 2014
YMMV, please contact your Transgender Resource Center, but that's this trans girl's experience.
posted by trogdole at 10:29 AM on September 17, 2014
I'm not particularly interested in unnecessarily coming out as trans to the staff at the childcare center that I'm applying for.
In the organizations I'm familiar, information from background checks isn't shared with anyone other than the person running the background check and a small number of senior employees who will need to make decisions based on the background check.
So, even if this comes out in the background check, it shouldn't follow that everyone in the organization will know. It may be worth talking with the potential employer about this during the background check process.
posted by alms at 10:44 AM on September 17, 2014 [5 favorites]
In the organizations I'm familiar, information from background checks isn't shared with anyone other than the person running the background check and a small number of senior employees who will need to make decisions based on the background check.
So, even if this comes out in the background check, it shouldn't follow that everyone in the organization will know. It may be worth talking with the potential employer about this during the background check process.
posted by alms at 10:44 AM on September 17, 2014 [5 favorites]
I have never been fingerprinted for any reason.
A number of states in the SouthWest require fingerprinting as part of the process to obtain a driver's licence. Are you certain this was not done by you at any time in the process of obtaining a licence to drive?
posted by Buttons Bellbottom at 11:44 AM on September 17, 2014
A number of states in the SouthWest require fingerprinting as part of the process to obtain a driver's licence. Are you certain this was not done by you at any time in the process of obtaining a licence to drive?
posted by Buttons Bellbottom at 11:44 AM on September 17, 2014
When you're working with kids, you get an FBI background check. Not to say the FBI will be doing it, but the interstate database used by the FBI will be accessed. This database also shows expunged records and arrests, depending on what the particular state reports.
This means that you will have to supply your social security number along with your reported names. Your background check will be done using your social, and all your information will be on the page immediately, including any past names and addresses.
Anyone who has access to that report will know, so there's really not much point in not disclosing.
posted by Willie0248 at 11:47 AM on September 17, 2014
This means that you will have to supply your social security number along with your reported names. Your background check will be done using your social, and all your information will be on the page immediately, including any past names and addresses.
Anyone who has access to that report will know, so there's really not much point in not disclosing.
posted by Willie0248 at 11:47 AM on September 17, 2014
Hm. As an employer I have commissioned basic background checks, and the information that came back was very limited. Just criminal (DUIs etc.) and only going back I believe 10 years. It was not uncommon for people to come to me and disclose stuff in advance, that did not later turn up in the check. That said, background checks vary widely, and I don't have any experience in checks related to working with kids.
But: when stuff did come up in background checks, it was often more widely shared than is ideal. Certainly all of HR was in the loop, the CEO, the hiring manager and anybody between the hiring manager and the CEO, and often e.g. finance and/or administration. Organizations are leaky, and even stuff that should be strictly confidential often is not. Unfortunately you being trans, if discovered through this process, would probably be exciting for people (because people are idiots) and I wouldn't be surprised if it leaked. That sucks and I'm sorry.
If I were you I would not disclose pro-actively to anyone at work because if you do it's a near certainty it will leak. I would provide the minimal information that's required, and then sit tight. But I'd also develop a plan for what to do if your company gets e.g. your birth name and asks you about it. FWIW if information related to you being trans turns up, it will be minimal - like, probably just the previous name. You might be able to get away with just saying (if asked), "yes, that was my birth name," and leaving it at that. I would try really hard to aim for factual, minimal disclosure, low drama, nothing-to-see-here, in any interactions with the organisation about this. The purpose of the background check is to surface anything problematic about you from the perspective of morals/ethics. The fact that it might inadvertently reveal you to be trans is unrelated to that goal and therefore should be officially of no interest to your organisation.
I hope this is somewhat helpful. I also think that yes you should seek advice from a group with expertise in trans workplace issues, so you're as prepared as you can be, legally and emotionally.
Good luck.
posted by Susan PG at 2:30 PM on September 17, 2014
But: when stuff did come up in background checks, it was often more widely shared than is ideal. Certainly all of HR was in the loop, the CEO, the hiring manager and anybody between the hiring manager and the CEO, and often e.g. finance and/or administration. Organizations are leaky, and even stuff that should be strictly confidential often is not. Unfortunately you being trans, if discovered through this process, would probably be exciting for people (because people are idiots) and I wouldn't be surprised if it leaked. That sucks and I'm sorry.
If I were you I would not disclose pro-actively to anyone at work because if you do it's a near certainty it will leak. I would provide the minimal information that's required, and then sit tight. But I'd also develop a plan for what to do if your company gets e.g. your birth name and asks you about it. FWIW if information related to you being trans turns up, it will be minimal - like, probably just the previous name. You might be able to get away with just saying (if asked), "yes, that was my birth name," and leaving it at that. I would try really hard to aim for factual, minimal disclosure, low drama, nothing-to-see-here, in any interactions with the organisation about this. The purpose of the background check is to surface anything problematic about you from the perspective of morals/ethics. The fact that it might inadvertently reveal you to be trans is unrelated to that goal and therefore should be officially of no interest to your organisation.
I hope this is somewhat helpful. I also think that yes you should seek advice from a group with expertise in trans workplace issues, so you're as prepared as you can be, legally and emotionally.
Good luck.
posted by Susan PG at 2:30 PM on September 17, 2014
> When you're working with kids, you get an FBI background check. Not to say the FBI will be doing it, but the interstate database used by the FBI will be accessed. This database also shows expunged records and arrests, depending on what the particular state reports. This means that you will have to supply your social security number along with your reported names. Your background check will be done using your social, and all your information will be on the page immediately, including any past names and addresses
That's not necessarily true. I get background checked at least once a year to work with children, and they don't ask for my Social Security number.
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:30 PM on September 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
That's not necessarily true. I get background checked at least once a year to work with children, and they don't ask for my Social Security number.
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:30 PM on September 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
I just reread your question a little more carefully. To the extent that you're talking about the actual form you're asked to fill out, my experience is that it is given to you by HR and processed by HR. Your boss won't see it unless HR shares it with him or her, which is up to them.
If I were you, I would not pro-actively disclose anything the form doesn't ask for, to anyone. If the form explicitly asks if you've ever used a different name than the one you're using now, it's up to you whether to answer honestly. If you don't and the background check reveals your previous name, the company may withdraw the offer to you, based on you having lied. (But they may not, if they are sympathetic to your reasons once you explain them.) I don't know how likely it is that your previous name will turn up if you don't disclose it.
Honestly, if it were me, and I really really did not want my being trans to be common knowledge in the organization, I would seriously consider not disclosing my previous name on the form, and hoping to get away with that. If I got caught I'd offer an explanation and hope for sympathy. My explanation would be that I was a minor at the time of the name change, that knowing my birth name would not have revealed anything relevant to the company (e.g. a criminal conviction), and that I strongly wanted to preserve my privacy.
posted by Susan PG at 2:58 PM on September 17, 2014 [2 favorites]
If I were you, I would not pro-actively disclose anything the form doesn't ask for, to anyone. If the form explicitly asks if you've ever used a different name than the one you're using now, it's up to you whether to answer honestly. If you don't and the background check reveals your previous name, the company may withdraw the offer to you, based on you having lied. (But they may not, if they are sympathetic to your reasons once you explain them.) I don't know how likely it is that your previous name will turn up if you don't disclose it.
Honestly, if it were me, and I really really did not want my being trans to be common knowledge in the organization, I would seriously consider not disclosing my previous name on the form, and hoping to get away with that. If I got caught I'd offer an explanation and hope for sympathy. My explanation would be that I was a minor at the time of the name change, that knowing my birth name would not have revealed anything relevant to the company (e.g. a criminal conviction), and that I strongly wanted to preserve my privacy.
posted by Susan PG at 2:58 PM on September 17, 2014 [2 favorites]
If the paperwork requires you to give all prior names and you decide to do so, what if you disclose it as a name change, which is what it is, legally.
My dad really wanted a boy, so my parents named me Kevin when I was born. Kind of ridiculous, I know, like that old song "a boy named Sue?" And of course there were the predictable problems, you can just imagine, so finally when I was 10, my parents agreed that I could legally change my name to Karen. Which is obviously a better fit, amirite?
If they're trans-supportive, they'll get it. If they're trans-clueless, they won't pick up on it. If they're intentionally trans-hateful, it would probably manifest in other ways eventually and be very hard to work there.
posted by Bentobox Humperdinck at 4:03 PM on September 17, 2014
My dad really wanted a boy, so my parents named me Kevin when I was born. Kind of ridiculous, I know, like that old song "a boy named Sue?" And of course there were the predictable problems, you can just imagine, so finally when I was 10, my parents agreed that I could legally change my name to Karen. Which is obviously a better fit, amirite?
If they're trans-supportive, they'll get it. If they're trans-clueless, they won't pick up on it. If they're intentionally trans-hateful, it would probably manifest in other ways eventually and be very hard to work there.
posted by Bentobox Humperdinck at 4:03 PM on September 17, 2014
When I had my background checks, I was required to list all names I had ever gone by. If I'm remembering right (and I'm not positive that I am), I forgot one (or thought it was unimportant), and they found it.
posted by latkes at 6:30 PM on September 17, 2014
posted by latkes at 6:30 PM on September 17, 2014
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Sadly, even though I very much sympathize with why you don't want to disclose, I think "yes" is the straightforward answer to that question. You went by another name, and if you say you didn't, then you will have said something false in writing to your employer. That could come back to bite you on its own.
I was under 18 and lived in a different US state
This is the key to whether it will show up in the background check -- how does that state deal with legal name changes, in terms of recordkeeping? Does that state make its records easily available to data brokers? Is it different for those under 18?
The best thing is to do a background check on yourself, ideally using the same background check company that your employer will use. See what comes up. The cost might be $30 or $50 or so, but probably worth it for peace of mind.
posted by Bentobox Humperdinck at 10:03 AM on September 17, 2014 [2 favorites]