{"id":46727,"date":"2018-03-28T16:49:54","date_gmt":"2018-03-28T16:49:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/03\/28\/report-va-missed-background-checks-for-thousands-of-employees\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:51:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:51:22","slug":"report-va-missed-background-checks-for-thousands-of-employees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2018\/03\/28\/report-va-missed-background-checks-for-thousands-of-employees\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: VA missed background checks for thousands of employees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Veterans Affairs officials<\/a> employed more than 6,000 workers \u2014 many with access to patients and sensitive personal information \u2014 without performing proper background checks, according to a new inspector general investigation released this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The news comes just months after the watchdog found that department leaders consistently failed to report potentially dangerous medical providers<\/a> to outside health systems, a problem which raised patient safety issues not just for veterans but for the public as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new report<\/a> from the inspector general found that mandatory background checks, mandated under federal rules within 14 days of employment, were not handled properly in about 6 percent of new VA hires over a five-year period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In one case, a registered nurse at an Ohio VA facility worked for 1,452 days before a proper background investigation was begun.<\/p>\n\n\n\t