General Assistance

A Federal Fidelity Bond is a business insurance policy that protects the employer in case of any loss of money or property due to employee dishonesty.  The Fidelity Bonds issued under the Federal Bonding Program are insurance policies underwritten by the Travelers Property Casualty Insurance Company and are good for a period of six months.  Each bond insures the employer for theft, forgery, larceny or embezzlement by the bonded employee.  It does not cover liability due to poor workmanship, job injuries or work accidents, and it is not a bail bond or court bond for the legal system nor a contract bond, performance bond or license bond sometimes needed for self-employment.  Any at-risk job applicant is eligible for bonding services, including ex-offenders, recovering substance abusers (alcohol or drugs), welfare recipients and other persons having poor financial credit, economically disadvantaged youth and adults who lack a work history, individuals dishonorably discharged from the military, and others. This service is available by contacting any of our centers.

 To be eligible for the Federal Bonding Program, an at-risk worker must:

• Need the program’s bond in order to get a specific job (have an actual job offer that requires bond issuance).
• Meet the legal age for working.  There are no other age limits, and some jobs require the employee to be 18 while others require 21.
• Be paid wages with federal taxes automatically deducted from pay (self-employed persons and independent contractors cannot be covered).

While the main purpose of the Federal Bonding Program is to help applicants who are having difficulty obtaining a job due to their questionable background, a bond can be issued to cover a current employee who is not able to obtain a bond under the employer’s insurance and needs the program’s bonding to get a promotion to a new job which requires bonding or to keep from being laid off.

Bonds are issued in units of $5,000.  One unit of bond insurance coverage is usually sufficient to cover most job placements.  Prior to issuing bond amounts larger than $5,000 (never more than five bond units or $25,000 coverage), approval must be obtained from the State Bonding Coordinator.  The bond issued has no deductible amount and the employer receives the total amount of the covered loss up to the full amount of the bond insurance.

Either the individual or the employer can request the assistance of our staff in acquiring a bond.  For each person bonded, a separate one-page Fidelity Bond Certification Form must be completed by our staff.

Please contact one of our centers for additional assistance and information or go to the website – Federal Bonding Program.