[mschuster91]

I can understand at least the reasoning behind checking criminal history of potential hirings (even though as an European, I disagree with the concept on a fundamental level and it's illegal in Germany to demand a criminal record check outside of very specific industries).

But how on earth do civil lawsuit records in the US end up anywhere where the background-checking industry can get their grubby paws on them?!

[jrochkind1]

The simple answer to "how do civil lawsuit records end up where they can get their hands on them" is that civil lawsuit records are of course public, and available to anyone who wants them. Although I haven't specifically heard of this one before.

Are civil suit records not public not in Germany?

But hearing that a criminal history check is illegal in Germany outside of specific industries continues to reinforce my belief that everything just works right in Germany.

How do I get residency?

[mschuster91]

> Are civil suit records not public not in Germany?

Usually, the verdict of popular lawsuits is published but with all PII redacted to a reasonable degree, and you can request a redacted copy of a verdict if it hasn't been published [1].

Additionally, 99.9% of all court proceedings can be visited and listened to by anyone, the exception being matters involving minors, national security and especially if psychological examinations of the accused or participants or details of sexual and domestic violence are being discussed, highly private details of someone's life - that is usually done only for the relevant period of a proceeding.

To me, that's a fair balance between the interest of the general public and the rights of the people subjected to the court - especially that to the right to live a normal life once one has served their sentence.

[1] https://www.lto.de/recht/hintergruende/h/bgh-hzivilgerichte-...

[sveme]

I would not know how to access such records. Doubt they are publicly available. Germany isn‘t perfect, but if you want to come, the blue card process is pretty straightforward. If you do python backend stuff, talk to me.

[jrochkind1]

Alas, no, ruby. Does the "blue card process" require a job offer? Looks like yes, good to know that if you have that, it can be done. https://www.germany-visa.org/immigration-residence-permit/eu...

I wonder where I'd find software job postings in Germany (or possibly other EU) that are suitable for blue card (looks like salary must be sufficient, possibly other requirements).

It is increasingly apparent to me that the USA is a fully broken society, and a dangerous place to live.

[sveme]

There are job seeker visa as well, so that you can travel to Germany with the intention of finding a job. I'm currently recruiting an Indian engineer and he indicated that it'll take him about 2 months to get the visa.

> General Work Permit – You can apply for this type of German work permit if you have found a job in Germany which could not have been filled by an EU national. You don’t need to have extraordinary skills as long as you are qualified for the job. Highly Skilled Worker Permit – You can apply for this type of work permit if you are a highly skilled worker with a lot of experience and a high income. The EU Blue Card for Germany – You can apply for an EU Blue Card if your salary will be at least €56,800 per year or €44,304 per year if you are in a shortage occupation.

Software Devs are in such demand that any of these conditions are easily fulfilled.

[sjg007]

They are not in a standard background check. They might show up in a Google search though.