Federally licensed firearms businesses will be allowed to request voluntary employment checks through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, under a Justice Department final rule. The checks require the eligible employee's informed, written consent.
The public-inspection copy is scheduled to be published October 27, rather than already published in the Federal Register.
Who the checks cover
The rule covers eligible current or prospective employees whose duties give them an opportunity to access firearms or ammunition. At licensed manufacturers, it also reaches specified access to manufacturing materials, tools or equipment. Certain independent contractors and agents working, or seeking to work, at a licensee's premises are included if they can access firearms, ammunition or their manufacturing components.
People listed as the licensee's responsible persons are excluded from this employee-check definition. The department says they already undergo background clearance through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Participation is voluntary under federal law. The department distinguishes that from any separate state, local or Tribal employment requirements.
What a result means
NICS will return Pass, Pending or Did Not Pass. A Pass means the system had no information demonstrating the specified firearms prohibition at the time of its response; Pending requires more research. Employers will not receive the underlying record information.
A Did Not Pass response does not mean the person is ineligible for every job at the business. It concerns the person's eligibility to receive or be transferred firearms under the cited federal provision.
The rule generally limits checks to one per eligible employee every 12 months, with an exception where the employer has reasonable cause to believe a potentially prohibiting event has occurred.
Challenging an error and the start date
An individual can request the reason for a Did Not Pass response from the responding agency. The request must be in writing unless a state or local point of contact waives that requirement. The rule requires the agency to respond within five business days after receiving the request and provides procedures to challenge inaccurate records.
The effective-date line still prints '[INSERT DATE 30 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER]'. By this desk's count, the scheduled October 27 publication would put the effective date at November 27: the 30-day count lands on Thanksgiving and rolls to the next federal business day. This is a calculated effective date, not a comment deadline; actual publication must be confirmed.