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Are you serious about this? I live in China, a supposedly autocratic country and one with universal ID, and even companies here don't take fingerprints. ID wil

Are you serious about this? I live in China, a supposedly autocratic country and one with universal ID, and even companies here don't take fingerprints. ID will be shown when you are officially onboard. I can't say for all, but for most companies (at least the ones without the need for a security clearance), requiring ID at interview will be seen as a red flag, and requiring fingerprint would probably be put on social media and name shamed, if not straight up reported to the authorities.

mixmastamyk 1y ago
Not a typical job but one in a high security environment, seems somewhat understandable. Not that I’d do it. The paradox that security for a firm means zero privacy for me is too much to bear these days.
- Gathering6678 1y ago
  I have some experience working for financial institutions with access to highly confidential information, and haven't been required to produce my fingerprint for, like, ever. Again, I can't say for all, and I'm sure there are certain companies and positions which require such measures, but I could not imagine requiring fingerprints (or even ID during interview) to be acceptable in most cases.
  - Spooky23 1y ago
    You probably worked in divisions where the auditors didn’t issue a finding yet, or outside the regulatory scope. It’s pretty common in finance, government and human services. Amazon is very aggressive with this - contractors in their facilities get regular background checks. Usually the employee goes to a third party run by a company like Idemia to collect the biometric. I can’t imagine not collecting the ID information of perspective employees - that’s just asking for fraud.
  - hiatus 1y ago
    You didn't have to do an in-person background check that included fingerprinting? When I worked at a bank this was required. It was run by a third party company not at the office.
    - Gathering6678 1y ago
      No, but I didn't deal with money directly. I dealt with corporate governance and capital market related information for the company, so perhaps other people needed to have their fingerprints taken.
- Cthulhu_ 1y ago
  In a high security environment, you can get a report from law enforcement; in the Netherlands this is called a "declaration around behaviour" (??), which is basically a signed / authenticated document saying "this person was not involved in financial crimes" - you need to have it specified for a category of crimes, the previous is for example one I had to get to work at a bank as a contractor. I don't know what the equivalent in the US is, but https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/more-fbi-services-and-information/identity-history-summary-checks https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/more-fbi-services-an... seems similar enough. I'd trust an FBI report more than taking their fingerprints and the like.
- Animats 1y ago
  The way it worked for a real US high security job (TS/SCI) was that the clearance process was totally separate from the employer. The fingerprints and polygraph exams were done off premises. The famous SF-86 form[1], all 130 pages, had to be filled out, but nobody at the employer ever saw it. The checking and processing were done by the FBI or a unit in DoD. (The current SF-86 only wants your residence addresses for the last 10 years. Used to be "List all residences from birth".) [1] https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf86.pdf https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf86.pdf
Animats 1y ago
If you're under attack by a foreign government, this isn't optional.
philipallstar 1y ago
> I live in China, a supposedly autocratic country and one with universal ID, and even companies here don't take fingerprints. ID will be shown when you are officially onboard. I can't say for all, but for most companies (at least the ones without the need for a security clearance), requiring ID at interview will be seen as a red flag, and requiring fingerprint would probably be put on social media and name shamed, if not straight up reported to the authorities. You're in a much more authoritarian country, and that would be using your non-universal, national ID. How do you authenticate someone coming in from overseas? Answer: your authoritarian government doesn't let them in, or authenticates them for you in a joint process with your HR department.
- Gathering6678 1y ago
  For overseas workers, a. it is quite difficult for foreigners to get a working visa in China (though I suppose it's more of an immigration issue rather than the country being authoritarian); b. companies would probably use their passports. So you're kind of correct. However, my point still holds: fingerprints for interviewees, even in China, is at best extremely uncommon, and at worst (?) illegal in most cases. Btw, I am nitpicking here, but by universal I meant used across the whole country, i.e. national.

mixmastamyk 1y ago

Not a typical job but one in a high security environment, seems somewhat understandable. Not that I’d do it. The paradox that security for a firm means zero privacy for me is too much to bear these days.

Gathering6678 1y ago
I have some experience working for financial institutions with access to highly confidential information, and haven't been required to produce my fingerprint for, like, ever. Again, I can't say for all, and I'm sure there are certain companies and positions which require such measures, but I could not imagine requiring fingerprints (or even ID during interview) to be acceptable in most cases.
- Spooky23 1y ago
  You probably worked in divisions where the auditors didn’t issue a finding yet, or outside the regulatory scope. It’s pretty common in finance, government and human services. Amazon is very aggressive with this - contractors in their facilities get regular background checks. Usually the employee goes to a third party run by a company like Idemia to collect the biometric. I can’t imagine not collecting the ID information of perspective employees - that’s just asking for fraud.
- hiatus 1y ago
  You didn't have to do an in-person background check that included fingerprinting? When I worked at a bank this was required. It was run by a third party company not at the office.
  - Gathering6678 1y ago
    No, but I didn't deal with money directly. I dealt with corporate governance and capital market related information for the company, so perhaps other people needed to have their fingerprints taken.
Cthulhu_ 1y ago
In a high security environment, you can get a report from law enforcement; in the Netherlands this is called a "declaration around behaviour" (??), which is basically a signed / authenticated document saying "this person was not involved in financial crimes" - you need to have it specified for a category of crimes, the previous is for example one I had to get to work at a bank as a contractor. I don't know what the equivalent in the US is, but https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/more-fbi-services-and-information/identity-history-summary-checks https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/more-fbi-services-an... seems similar enough. I'd trust an FBI report more than taking their fingerprints and the like.
Animats 1y ago
The way it worked for a real US high security job (TS/SCI) was that the clearance process was totally separate from the employer. The fingerprints and polygraph exams were done off premises. The famous SF-86 form[1], all 130 pages, had to be filled out, but nobody at the employer ever saw it. The checking and processing were done by the FBI or a unit in DoD. (The current SF-86 only wants your residence addresses for the last 10 years. Used to be "List all residences from birth".) [1] https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf86.pdf https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf86.pdf

Animats 1y ago

If you're under attack by a foreign government, this isn't optional.

philipallstar 1y ago

> I live in China, a supposedly autocratic country and one with universal ID, and even companies here don't take fingerprints. ID will be shown when you are officially onboard. I can't say for all, but for most companies (at least the ones without the need for a security clearance), requiring ID at interview will be seen as a red flag, and requiring fingerprint would probably be put on social media and name shamed, if not straight up reported to the authorities. You're in a much more authoritarian country, and that would be using your non-universal, national ID. How do you authenticate someone coming in from overseas? Answer: your authoritarian government doesn't let them in, or authenticates them for you in a joint process with your HR department.

Gathering6678 1y ago
For overseas workers, a. it is quite difficult for foreigners to get a working visa in China (though I suppose it's more of an immigration issue rather than the country being authoritarian); b. companies would probably use their passports. So you're kind of correct. However, my point still holds: fingerprints for interviewees, even in China, is at best extremely uncommon, and at worst (?) illegal in most cases. Btw, I am nitpicking here, but by universal I meant used across the whole country, i.e. national.