"Legal in another country" background question

[Eternal46]

Good evening all. Had a hypothetical question come up the other day with a few other retirees and we were split on this.

Let's say you have a "perfect" candidate. Stable job history, military service with no blemishes, perfect credit, turned into "Captain America" on the physical and crushed the written.

The only thing on their background is doing something that was legal in another country (engaging in prostitution, marijuana useage, cockfighting, what have you) but is illegal where they are applying. Is that grounds for being disqualified?

I figured "yes, because the fact it was legal elsewhere but not here doesn't negate what happened."

Thanks in advance.

[Iowa #1603]

Good evening all. Had a hypothetical question come up the other day with a few other retirees and we were split on this.

Let's say you have a "perfect" candidate. Stable job history, military service with no blemishes, perfect credit, turned into "Captain America" on the physical and crushed the written.

The only thing on their background is doing something that was legal in another country (engaging in prostitution, marijuana useage, cockfighting, what have you) but is illegal where they are applying. Is that grounds for being disqualified?

I figured "yes, because the fact it was legal elsewhere but not here doesn't negate what happened."

Thanks in advance.

It is GROUNDS for disqualification.

The activity is illegal in my jurisdiction....it really doesn't matter if it was legal there.The candidate is not applying THERE.

In reality it will depend on what the activity WAS.and the rules the local agency has set for their hiring standards.

You must remember that a BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION is all about your candidate's past behavior, and the things they are willing to do. Backgrounding candidates is all about the fact that prior behavior is often indicative of future behavior

[NolaT]

Good evening all. Had a hypothetical question come up the other day with a few other retirees and we were split on this.

Let's say you have a "perfect" candidate. Stable job history, military service with no blemishes, perfect credit, turned into "Captain America" on the physical and crushed the written.

The only thing on their background is doing something that was legal in another country (engaging in prostitution, marijuana useage, cockfighting, what have you) but is illegal where they are applying. Is that grounds for being disqualified?

I figured "yes, because the fact it was legal elsewhere but not here doesn't negate what happened."

Thanks in advance.

Exactly what did you do in this foreign country?

With specific details we can offer advice,,.....please don't reply that you're "asking for a friend", that what Everyone says, seriously.

[Aidokea]

Good evening all. Had a hypothetical question come up the other day with a few other retirees and we were split on this.

Let's say you have a "perfect" candidate. Stable job history, military service with no blemishes, perfect credit, turned into "Captain America" on the physical and crushed the written.

The only thing on their background is doing something that was legal in another country (engaging in prostitution, marijuana useage, cockfighting, what have you) but is illegal where they are applying. Is that grounds for being disqualified?

I figured "yes, because the fact it was legal elsewhere but not here doesn't negate what happened."

Thanks in advance.

Saved. You know...just because...

[CCCSD]

Good evening all. Had a hypothetical question come up the other day with a few other retirees and we were split on this.

Let's say you have a "perfect" candidate. Stable job history, military service with no blemishes, perfect credit, turned into "Captain America" on the physical and crushed the written.

The only thing on their background is doing something that was legal in another country (engaging in prostitution, marijuana useage, cockfighting, what have you) but is illegal where they are applying. Is that grounds for being disqualified?

I figured "yes, because the fact it was legal elsewhere but not here doesn't negate what happened."

Thanks in advance.

Wildfire, is that you?

[NolaT]

FUNNY!!!!

I literally laughed out loud, seriously.

He'll be back,.........

[Bing_Oh]

Exactly what did you do in this foreign country?

With specific details we can offer advice,,.....please don't reply that you're "asking for a friend", that what Everyone says, seriously.

We've gone from "asking for a friend" to "hypothetical."

[Bing_Oh]

To the OP, there are some third world countries where it's legal to have sex with a 12 year old hooker while smoking opium. Do you think that the "it was legal there" argument would work on a BI in that case? There's your answer...

[L-1]

At risk of getting flamed, I'm going to disagree to a certain extent.

If you admit to placing illegal bets with your bookie or visiting illegal gambling establishments in your state, you're going to get DQed. But admit to flying to Las Vegas or New Jersey and gambling in a legal casino and instead of DQing you, your BI might ask if you won anything. The true DQ issue is not that you gambled but that you broke the law.

Similarly, patronize a hooker in your state where doing so is illegal and you're probably going to get DQed. But do so in Nevada where prostitution is legal and licensed by the government as an honorable way or earning a living and the odds of being DQed just dropped to almost zero. As far as foreign/underage is concerned, that is still covered by Federal Sex Tourism prohibitions and is a solid DQ.

Ditto with certain drugs. With so many drugs now being made legal, many departments have changed their DQ criteria to state no usage of (insert drugs name) within the past 12, 24, 60 (take your pick) months. This addresses addiction and BATF firearms disqualification issues.

I visit Texas periodically where the maximum speed limit is 85 MPH on certain roads. I have routinely driven at that speed in Texas, which is in full compliance with Texas law, however, the maximum speed limit in my state is 70 MPH. Should that allow me to be disqualified in my state as having demonstrated poor driving habits and a propensity to speed?

My whole point here is, is it unreasonable to DQ an applicant for engaging in conduct in a foreign jurisdiction declared lawful by their government, solely because it might be unlawful in our jurisdiction. Instead, there needs to be another DQ basis that shows a valid relationship to the job being sought.

[CJ Prof]

Don't think there's a truly objective answer here.... driving 150 mph on the Autobahn is legal, but would likely get you a jail visit in the U.S., drinking alcohol regularly as an adolescent in Europe is fairly common, but admitting to a BI that you drank through your teenage years could potentially be a dis-qualifier for U.S. agencies.

[NolaT]

Legal in "Another Country" are the key words,.......the activities illegal in the US, but legal abroad, would lead me to believe that the OP engaged in something much more than drinking, speeding or gambling.

[just joe]

Maybe that vacation to Thailand was a bad idea....

[BrianT]

If certain activities were a DQ, you'd have to eliminate the entire Marine Corps and half of the US Navy from your applicant pool.

[Aidokea]

To the OP, there are some third world countries where it's legal to have sex with a 12 year old hooker while smoking opium. Do you think that the "it was legal there" argument would work on a BI in that case? There's your answer...

We don't know that the boy was 12 yet...

[Bing_Oh]

At risk of getting flamed, I'm going to disagree to a certain extent.

I don't think it should necessarily be an auto DQ if something is legal where it happened but illegal where the applicant is applying. On the flip side, I also don't think that the "it was legal there" should be an get out of jail free card.

Realistically, we all know that most auto DQ's carry with them some larger concern. They generally fall into the category of serious crime, moral terpitude, or indication of serious poor decision-making. Speeding and gambling and drinking don't generally fall into those categories. But, I was only being slightly sarcastic when I said that underage prostitution and opium were legal in some third world countries...they actually are and participation in such activities brings into questions a candidate's background, even though the activities may have been technically legal.