SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘District of Columbia 
Employee Suitability Act of 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. CRITERIA FOR MAKING SUITABILITY DETERMINA-
TIONS FOR DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA EMPLOY-
MENT; REQUIRING CRIMINAL BACKGROUND 
CHECKS FOR APPOINTMENT TO EXCEPTED 
SERVICE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part B of title IV of the District 
of Columbia Home Rule Act (sec. 1–204.21 et seq., D.C. 
Official Code) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICANTS FOR EMPLOYMENT 
WITH DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA GOVERNMENT 
‘‘SEC. 425. (a) CRITERIA FOR SUITABILITY DETER-
MINATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), in determining whether an individual is 
suitable for employment with the District of Colum-
bia Government, the hiring authority involved may 
find an individual unsuitable and take a suitability 
action only on the basis of the following factors: 
‘‘(A) Misconduct or negligence in employ-
ment. 
‘‘(B) Criminal or dishonest conduct. 
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‘‘(C) Material, intentional false statement, 
or deception or fraud in examination or ap-
pointment. 
‘‘(D) Alcohol abuse, without evidence of 
substantial rehabilitation, of a nature and dura-
tion that suggests that the applicant or ap-
pointee would be prevented from performing the 
duties of the position in question, or would con-
stitute a direct threat to the property or safety 
of the applicant or appointee or others. 
‘‘(E) Illegal use of narcotics, drugs, or 
other controlled substances without evidence of 
substantial rehabilitation. 
‘‘(F) Knowing and willful engagement in 
acts or activities designed to overthrow the 
United States Government by force. 
‘‘(G) Any statutory or regulatory bar 
which prevents the lawful employment of the in-
dividual involved in the position in question. 
‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In addi-
tion to the factors described in paragraph (1), the 
hiring authority may consider any of the following 
factors with respect to an individual’s suitability for 
employment to the extent that it considers such fac-
tors pertinent with respect to the individual involved: 
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‘‘(A) The nature of the position for which 
the individual is applying or in which the indi-
vidual is employed. 
‘‘(B) The nature and seriousness of the 
conduct. 
‘‘(C) The circumstances surrounding the 
conduct. 
‘‘(D) How recently the conduct occurred. 
‘‘(E) The age of the individual involved at 
the time of the conduct. 
‘‘(F) Contributing societal conditions. 
‘‘(G) The absence or presence of rehabilita-
tion or efforts toward rehabilitation. 
‘‘(3) RECIPROCITY.—A hiring authority cannot 
make a new determination under this subsection for 
an individual who has already been determined suit-
able or fit based on character or conduct unless a 
new investigation is required under the District of 
Columbia Government Comprehensive Merit Per-
sonnel Act of 1978 (or any successor law governing 
a merit personnel system for the District of Colum-
bia), or no new investigation is required but the in-
vestigative record on file for the individual shows 
conduct that is incompatible with the core duties of 
the relevant covered position. 
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‘‘(4) SCOPE
OF
COVERAGE.—This subsection 
shall apply to any office in the executive branch of 
the District of Columbia Government and to any 
independent agency of the District of Columbia es-
tablished under part F of this title, but does not 
apply to the Council or the courts of the District of 
Columbia. 
‘‘(5) EFFECTIVE
DATE.—This subsection ap-
plies with respect to individuals who seek employ-
ment with the District of Columbia Government 
after the date of the enactment of this section. 
‘‘(b) CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS
FOR AP-
POINTMENT TO EXCEPTED SERVICE.— 
‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—An individual may not be 
appointed to any position in the excepted service 
under the District of Columbia Government Com-
prehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978 (or any suc-
cessor law governing a merit personnel system for 
the District of Columbia) unless the individual ap-
plies for and submits to a criminal background 
check in accordance with the Criminal Background 
Checks for the Protection of Children Act of 2004 
and the regulations issued to carry out such Act. 
‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION.—For purposes of this 
section, the Criminal Background Checks for the 
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Protection of Children Act of 2004 shall apply to an 
individual seeking appointment to a position in the 
excepted service in the same manner as such Act ap-
plies to an individual applying for paid employment 
by a covered child or youth services provider under 
such Act. 
‘‘(3) EFFECTIVE
DATE.—This subsection ap-
plies with respect to individuals who are appointed 
to positions in the excepted service after the date of 
the enactment of this section.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act is amended 
by adding at the end of the item relating to part B of 
title IV the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 425. Requirements for applicants for employment with District of Colum-
bia Government.’’. 
Æ 
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