FBI drops automatic hiring ban for applicants with past prostitution encounters

The FBI is abandoning a strict hiring ban on job applicants who have engaged in sexual encounters with prostitutes , choosing instead to evaluate at least some past cases through a more holistic review, according to people familiar with the matter.

This move away from an automatic disqualification represents part of a broader evolution in recruitment standards across federal law enforcement agencies and within the traditionally conservative bureau. The agency previously eased its restrictions on prior marijuana consumption several years ago, a trend that has raised concern among some current and former agents who worry recruitment standards are being relaxed as the agency attempts to rebuild its workforce.

Nevertheless, internal guidelines issued this past spring outline specific boundaries. The bureau will still disqualify candidates if background checks reveal they paid for sex within the last 10 years, engaged in the practice three or more times overall, or did so while serving in a position of public trust, according to a person familiar with the decisions who spoke anonymously.

For others, it will allow for consideration of the context of the conduct rather than treat it as grounds for an automatic rejection from the FBI’s hiring process.

The practical impact is not immediately clear since many who have engaged in prostitution may still be either immediately disqualified or weeded out upon further scrutiny from FBI polygraphers and security officials.

The FBI said the change was meant to account for the fact that some otherwise suitable candidates, including service members, may have engaged in the practice in places where it is legal and to accommodate applicants who themselves may have been victims of sexual abuse.

“It is false to suggest criminal behavior like this is no longer disqualifying at the FBI. Any applicant who has engaged in criminal sexual acts like those referenced would of course not be eligible for employment, and it is ridiculous to suggest otherwise,” the FBI said in a statement that described the background check process as “wide-ranging and extensive.”

“The FBI has and always will maintain some of the highest suitability standards for its applicants and employees in the US Government,” the statement added.

Even so, the shift is being made at a time when current and former officials worry that the FBI, and the Justice Department more generally, have eased recruitment requirements while facing a mass personnel exodus brought on by retirements, voluntary resignations and firings.