Legal Question in Criminal Law in Washington

Re: Anti-harassment order affect on background checks

It may . Does the job require security clearances? This could be a factor . Is the Anti Harassment order civil or criminal. Even civil ones have been known to appear of all things on credit reports

Re: Anti-harassment order affect on background checks

There are two parties to an anti-harassment order (�AHO� for short). First, there is the petitioner, who is the person protected by the order, and then there is the respondent, who is the person restrained by the order. Since you are asking about the impacts from an AHO on employment background checks and government security clearances, I�ll make the assumption that the AHO you have concerns about lists you as the respondent.

When the government issues someone a security clearance, it conducts a �Single Scope Background Investigation� or �SSBI� for short. SSBIs have many sub-components, some of which do not always apply depending on the level of security clearance that is sought.

If your job will require a �Secret� clearance, then an AHO will definitely show up, but it may not be an absolute bar to receiving the clearance. You will probably be asked to provide details to the satisfaction of the security clearance investigator. However, if you need a higher access, such as access to sensitive compartmented information or a top-secret clearance/SCI, then it�s likely that you might not qualify because of the AHO.

In the process of a SSBI, the investigators conduct what are called National and Local Agency Checks. Typically these checks look for any arrest warrants, convictions, open civil judgements, and yes � they even find restraining orders. The concept is to identify everything in your background that could potentially be used by our adversaries to embarrass you or coerce you into divulging classified information.

Now as far as an pre-employment or hiring background check, this will depend on the background investigation products or services used by the employer. In Washington State, all AHOs are a matter of public record unless placed under seal, so I believe that it�s likely that most if not all employers� pre-hiring background searches will find them eventually. In fact, if this job you seek is deals with really sensitive projects or programs, you might have to sign a disclosure document that forces you to list what convictions, arrests, and judgements you have had placed against you over the past few years. I think that in this Internet age, you�d best not try and hide the AHO and should by all means be up front about it.

Now all of that being said, you might benefit from at least working up a written explanation of the circumstances surrounding your AHO. Having something that explains what happened already prepared will help you a great deal. This is where legal counsel might come in handy because your words must be chosen very carefully. Even if the basis for the AHO was your �fault� there�s probably a technically precise and truthful way of stating what happened in a way that will satisfy the security investigators. If you�d like any further assistance on this, please feel free to contact my office.