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34.1 Pursuant to Tennessee Board of Regents Guideline P-010, Personnel Transactions and Recommended Forms, background checks will be conducted of candidates recommended for specified positions including interim/acting positions. The Human Resource Services Office will determine the necessity of subsequent background checks for employees who have a background check on file and who are being promoted or transferred to a new position. Factors to be considered will be recency of previous background check and duties and responsibilities of the new position. Circumstances may also arise for which background checks of current employees will be necessary in order to determine whether their employment status with the institution should be changed. This process is necessary to ensure that individuals are selected or retained who possess the qualifications to perform the duties of the position most effectively and who are best able to serve the institution. Background checks may include but not be limited to: confirmation of the individual's identity; credit information; review of an individual's criminal conviction record, if any; verification of any license, certificate or degree required for the position. The Director of Human Resource Services shall designate what checks are necessary based upon the position being filled.
34.2 Individuals shall be made aware of the background check procedures during the application process. Appointment to or continued employment in a specified position is contingent upon an acceptable background check, and any written offer of employment must contain notice of this contingency. Background checks, when possible, will be completed prior to appointing a person to the position. However, should a background check be initiated or the results provided after employment has begun, the results shall be used to assess the employee's suitability for continued employment. If employment is begun prior to receipt of the results of the background check, the employment contract shall state that continued employment is conditioned upon an acceptable background check.
34.3 The Human Resource Services Office will determine and maintain a list of the types of checks that will be required of the specified positions based upon the responsibilities of the position. Only those types of checks where there is a clear connection between the duties or nature of the position and the need for this information will be requested. Some positions for which a credit and/or criminal background check might be appropriate are those where the employee would handle currency; have access to confidential information and/or the capability to create, delete or alter records; have routine access to building master control and key systems; be responsible for the care or instruction of children; or, work in an area of the institution which has been designated as a security-sensitive area.
34.4 The Human Resource Services Office is responsible for ensuring that the Disclosure and Authorization form (Background Investigation Consent form) required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is completed. No background check may be requested until this form is completed. If the candidate/employee refuses to sign the Disclosure and Authorization Form, no further consideration for employment will be given to this individual.
34.5 The Human Resource Services Office will send, via the internet, the background check request to Kroll Background America, Inc. (KBA), the background check agency, who will normally respond in 1-7 days of receipt of the form.
34.6 The Employment Manager and the Director of Human Resource Services will review and evaluate all information obtained in the Background Investigation. If the consumer report contains information upon which it is determined that the candidate/employee does not possess the qualifications or characteristics necessary to perform the duties of the position most effectively, or would not be the best candidate to serve the institution in the subject position, an offer of employment, promotion, reclassification or transfer should not be made.
34.7 Detention and/or arrest without conviction do not constitute valid grounds for employment decisions and cannot play a part in the decision-making process. Only criminal convictions or pleas of nolo contendre will be considered in determining a candidate's/employee's suitability for employment or continued employment. In assessing a record of criminal convictions, the decision will be made by assessing:
34.7.1 The nature and severity of the offense as well as a variety of surrounding facts and circumstances including, but not limited to:
A. the age of the individual at the time of the offense;
B. the number of offenses for which the individual was convicted;
C. the time which has elapsed since the last offense;
D. whether the circumstances arose out of an employment situation.
34.7.2 The duties, responsibilities and circumstances of the position applied for including, but not limited to:
A. the nature and scope of the position's student, public or other interpersonal conduct;
B. the nature and scope of the position's autonomy and discretionary authority;
C. the extent to which the position holds a measure of fiscal responsibility to the institution;
D. the opportunity presented for the commission of additional offenses; and
E. the extent to which acceptable job performance requires the trust and confidence of the institution, employees, students or the public.
34.7.3 The critical questions that must be answered in order to substantiate a decision not to hire, promote, transfer, etc. are:
A. whether the nature of the criminal conviction prevents the individual from performing the job applied for in an acceptable business-like manner; and
B. whether the offense is job-related, i.e., can the individual perform acceptably in spite of the conviction.
34.8 If adverse action is to be taken based in whole or in part on the information obtained from the background check, additional provisions of the FCRA must be followed. Prior to taking adverse action, the Human Resource Services Office must provide the candidate/employee with a copy of the background check report, along with a summary of rights. After the adverse action is taken, the candidate/employee must be given an Adverse Action Notice (See Exhibit P/P-38). An adverse action would include such things as the University's intent to deny employment to a candidate or promotion, reclassification, transfer or retention as an employee. Information will be shared with the hiring department and/or supervisor of current employee.
34.9 Any discrepancy between information provided by the applicant on application materials and the information provided by Kroll Background America, Inc. (KBA) in the background investigation must be explained and documented. The candidate/employee must sign a statement of explanation which is then attached to the background investigation paperwork and put in the subject's personnel file.
34.10 The background check agency will charge a fee for each investigation conducted. The Human Resource Services Office covers all fees except for the following areas:
34.10.1 Facilities and Business Services
34.10.2 Grant-funded positions
34.10.3 Residential Life
34.10.4 Post Office
34.10.5 Fitness Center
34.10.6 General education funding
34.11 The Human Resource Services Office will serve as the custodian of the records for background investigation results. Results on individuals who become employees will be kept in the employee's personnel file.
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