‘Optional’ background checks?

As the Wilson Tindi scandal unfolds, it seems that this convicted-felon, senior bureaucrat may not have undergone any background checks.

Tindi is that convicted felon, registered sex offender, illegal alien who was hired for seniormost career civil service positions in the Tim Walz Administration. A citizen of Kenya, Tindi, age 42, served as Chief Audit Officer (director-level) at both the state Dept. of Education (MDE) and the Pollution Control Agency under Walz.

He was let go last week by MDE after Alpha News started asking questions about his hiring.

Tom Hauser of KSTP-5 TV picks up the story (without crediting Alpha News) and gets some astonishing facts on the record regarding state hiring practices. KSTP reports:

It turns out most jobs in Minnesota state government do not require a criminal background check. In fact, in 2009, the Minnesota Legislature passed a law known as “Ban the Box,” which prohibited boxes on job applications where an applicant would have to say whether they had a criminal conviction.

Are you kidding me?

It’s unclear whether that law came into play in Tindi’s case because it does still allow criminal background checks, but only after an applicant has been granted an interview or conditionally offered a job. Such a check is not mandatory.

Wait! It gets worse!

KSTP tried to find out if Tindi was ever subjected to a criminal background check, but was told that it is not public information.

Adding:

Neither the MPCA nor MDE would say whether Tindi went through a background check before they hired him.

Curious, I submitted a formal data request to MDE asking how many illegal aliens they have on the payroll. I’ll let you know if I hear back.

It’s not too late to perform background checks on all state employees to confirm their status.

[Update: Fox 9 TV has a 2-minute broadcast story on the subject.

Also, MPR News: MDE employee loses job after conviction surfaces]