The United States Mail Service, often known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the United States federal government that is responsible for providing postal service across the United States, including its insular areas and associated states.
It’s one of the few federal agencies that the U.S. Constitution explicitly authorizes. The USPS employs 516,636 career employees and 136,531 non-career employees as of 2021.
Benjamin Franklin was designated the first postmaster general in 1775 during the Second Continental Congress; he also served in a similar capacity for the colonies of the Kingdom of Great Britain.
With the enactment of the Postal Service Act in 1792, the Post Office Department was established.
In 1872, it was upgraded to a cabinet-level department, and in 1970, the Postal Reorganization Act established the United States Postal Service as a separate agency.
Many direct tax subsidies to the USPS have been cut or discontinued since the early 1980s (except payments for costs related to disabled and foreign voters).
Few jobs provide the same opportunities for advancement, security, and perks as a job with the United States Postal Service, which is why their hiring process is so thorough.
You might be wondering, though, if any prior mistakes would come back to bother you as you look for work with the USPS.
To put it another way, what is the USPS background check policy? Take a walk with me through this to understand.
SEE ALSO: USPS Hiring Process and Salary Structure
USPS Background Check
As of 2022, the United States Postal Service will undertake a complete background check on every possible hire.
This includes a review of the applicant’s criminal history over the last five years, as well as their driving record, which is especially important for jobs that require driving. A criminal past does not automatically disqualify applicants for the USPS.
The United States Postal Service is a selective employer that conducts several background checks.
It is an independent agency of the federal government’s executive branch. The criminal background check and the driver’s record check are the two most prevalent and well-known.
According to the USPS website, the criminal background check looks at “where the subject has resided, worked, or gone to school within the United States or its territories.”
This only goes back five years, and therefore if the applicant has lived overseas in the last five years, a thorough investigation will be impossible to do. This could make the candidate ineligible for employment.
You must supply your name and addresses for the previous five years, as well as your driver’s license number, to begin the background checks (for driving positions).
Your date of birth and social security number will also need to be verified. However, before USPS looks into any of that, you will be asked to give your permission for the agency to conduct this investigation.
Finally, USPS investigates your work history, including whether or not you have ever been fired.
If you’ve been dismissed, your application isn’t being fed into a mechanism that disqualifies you. Rather, your application is being read by a real person.
They (together with any other hiring personnel) can assess the situation objectively. Dismissal isn’t an automatic no.
SEE ALSO: USPS Mail Processing Clerk Job Description
What Disqualifies You From Working For USPS?
While getting fired from a previous job or even being convicted of a felony aren’t necessarily disqualifying factors for employment with the USPS (if you’re honest), a terrible driving record may be.
If you’re applying for a job that needs driving, such as a rural mail carrier, be sure you have a spotless driving record.
The following are some examples of automatic disqualifiers:
- A driving record of fewer than two years -Driving permit suspended at least once every three years, at least twice every five years -Driving permit revoked at least once every five years.
- Reckless driving violation at least once every three years, twice every five years.
- Any other traffic violations at least three times in three years, at least five times in five years -DUI (drugs, alcohol, etc.) at any time.
- At-fault incidents that occurred at least twice in the previous three or five years or any accident that ended in death.
- Any offense involving a hit-and-run.
SEE ALSO: USPS Pre-Hire List
Conclusion
Every potential employee on the United States Postal Service’s pre-hire list is subjected to a background check.
It treats convicted convicts with extreme fairness and caution while considering them for employment.
The Postal Service recognizes that many people with criminal records have exhibited effective rehabilitation and are capable of performing the duties of postal jobs, according to its background check statement. These candidates have the right to compete for jobs based on their own merits.
The Postal Service looks back up to five years in your history. If I had to speculate, the reason for this timeframe is similar to their willingness to hire persons who have been convicted of crimes.
That is, if you can demonstrate that you have been rehabilitated or have led a morally upright life for the past five years, you have potential as an employee.
While felony charges do not automatically disqualify applicants, they must demonstrate that they have been rehabilitated and deserve a second opportunity.
