I find this almost impossible to believe. I know and org where someone did not check records, ended up hiring a sex offender. Of all the people THIS person DID do something wrong. They had tons of employees. They got screwed for not actively discriminating against folks with a record. Will the federal govt bond program you mention pay the multi-million dollar settlement they had to pay out. I doubt it. Livescan checks are absolutely required here in CA, and if you hire someone who has disqualifying events it's a major deal. I haven't looked into recidivism data, but got to believe there is some data to support these types of policies.