Pre-employment Screening

Purpose 

This policy applies to external candidates for employment in regular and temporary staff positions including faculty, student and Hospital volunteer positions at the University of Kentucky (UK). (External candidates are defined as candidates for UK positions who are not presently employed at UK.)

1. It is important that the University’s academic, service, and research missions are supported by qualified employees, in a safe and secure environment for all University constituents, including students, visitors, patients and employees. It is also important that the University of Kentucky take meaningful actions to protect its funds, property and other assets.
2. This policy is intended to support the verification of credentials, criminal history, and other information related to employment decisions that assist the University in meeting its commitments.

Policy 

It is the policy of the University of Kentucky that all external candidates for employment in staff (regular and temporary), faculty, student and Hospital volunteer positions have certain credentials and criminal and other background information verified as a condition of employment.

Definitions

1. “Criminal history check” means verifying that the selected candidate does not have any undisclosed criminal history in every jurisdiction where the candidate currently resides or has resided or has been employed.
2. “Educational verification” means ensuring that the selected candidate possesses all education credentials beyond high school listed on the application, resume or cover letter or otherwise cited by the candidate that qualify the individual for the position sought.
3. “Employment verification” means ensuring that the selected candidate actually worked in the positions listed on the application, resume, or cover letter or otherwise cited by the candidate that qualify the individual for the position sought. This verification should include dates of employment and verification of last position held.
4. “License verification” means ensuring that the selected candidate possesses all the licenses listed on the application, resume, or cover letter or otherwise cited by the candidate that qualify the individual for the position sought and verification of any license required for the position, including verification of the status of such licenses. This includes any motor vehicle drivers licenses required for the associated position.  
5. “Sex offender registry check” means verifying that the selected candidate does not have undisclosed convictions of certain sex crimes in every jurisdiction where the candidate currently resides or has resided or has been employed.  
6. “Healthcare sanctions check” identifies sanctioned individuals and entities in the healthcare field. Sanctioned individuals are those who have been determined to be fraudulent in their field, and/or those individuals who have had adverse actions taken against them by the licensing boards of state governments. Reported actions may include: reprimands, probations, suspensions and revocations of provider licenses, cease and desists orders, exclusions for failure to pay student loans, Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) violations, child support violations, professional misconduct, other similar sanctions and exclusions.
7. “Prohibited Parties” means specially designated nationals, terrorists, narcotics traffickers, blocked persons and parties subject to various economic sanctioned programs who are forbidden from conducting business in the United States, as well as entities subject to license requirements because of their proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The Prohibited Parties search is also used in the financial services industry to look for potential money launderers.

Process

1. External Candidates for Non-Healthcare/Non-Research positions 
   
    
   1. All external candidates for non-healthcare/non-research positions shall have the following background checks completed as a condition of employment with the University of Kentucky: 
      
       
      1. Educational verification
      2. Employment verification
      3. License verification - to be completed by the hiring department or Human Resources; except for a required motor vehicle driver’s license, which is to be completed by Risk Management or commercial driver’s license, which is to be completed by Human Resources.
      4. Criminal History Check
      5. Sex offender registry check

      
      
      Human Resources shall perform the criminal history check and sex offender check (iv, v). All other checks (i, ii, iii) shall be performed by the hiring department or by request from the hiring department, Human Resources shall complete these indicated checks.
      
       

2. External Candidates for Healthcare/Research positions 
   
    
   1. All external candidates for healthcare/research positions shall have the following background checks completed as a condition of employment with the University of Kentucky: 
      
       
      1. Educational verification
      2. Employment verification
      3. License verification - to be completed by the hiring department or Human Resources; except for a required motor vehicle driver’s license, which is to be completed by Risk Management or commercial driver’s license, which is to be completed by Human Resources.
      4. Criminal History Check
      5. Sex offender registry Check
      6. Healthcare Sanctions Check
      7. Prohibited Parties Check

      
      
      Human Resources shall perform the criminal history check, sex offender check, healthcare sanctions check and the prohibited parties check (iv, v, vi, vii). All other checks (i, ii, iii) shall be performed by the hiring department or by request from the hiring department, Human Resources shall complete the indicated checks. 
      
       

3. Human Resources or Hiring Department Responsibilities 
   
    
   1. For any initial hire, the Hiring Department shall be responsible for submitting background check requests to Human Resources. Human Resources shall determine which of the components of the background check shall be required.
   2. All offers of employment, oral or written, by the Hiring Department shall include the following statement: “This offer is contingent upon the university’s verification of credentials and other information required by state law and UK policies, including the completion of a criminal history check.”
   3. It is strongly recommended that employment verification be completed by the Hiring Department within one week of making a contingent offer of employment to any individual.
   4. It is strongly recommended that educational and license verifications be completed by the Hiring Department within one week of making a contingent offer of employment to any individual.
   5. Criminal history check and sex offender registry checks shall be initiated by Human Resources after acceptance of the conditional offer of employment. The individual’s official name, date of birth and social security number shall be obtained from the person and provided to a third-party which the University has contracted with for associated services.
   6. If the criminal history check indicates there are no convictions, the third party vendor shall inform Human Resources or other designated administrative unit who in turn shall inform the hiring department that the candidate is viable for employment.
   7. If the criminal history check indicates there are convictions, the third party vendor shall inform Human Resources or designated administrative unit. Human Resources or designated administrative unit shall provide a copy of the report to the individual as required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
   8. If the criminal history check reveals convictions which the individual disclosed in the application, Human Resources or designated administrative unit shall review the report and shall evaluate each conviction, including any additional information that the individual provides, before the offer of employment is confirmed or withdrawn. Human Resources shall consult with the Office of Legal Counsel and the Office of Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity. The existence of a conviction does not automatically disqualify an individual from employment. Relevant considerations may include, but are not limited to, the nature and number of convictions, their dates, and the relatedness the conviction(s) has to the duties and responsibilities of the position. Any decision to accept or reject an individual with a conviction is solely at the discretion of the University of Kentucky.
   9. If unreported convictions are discovered in the criminal history check, the offer of employment shall be withdrawn and, if employed, the individual shall be terminated from employment, unless the individual proves that the report is in error. The decision to reject or terminate an individual with an unreported conviction is solely at the discretion of the University of Kentucky.
   10. In the event the results of the background check influence a decision to withdraw an employment offer or terminate employment, Human Resources or designated administrative unit shall inform the hiring department and the individual as required by FCRA.
   11. For all employment, education, and license checks/verifications required, departments shall maintain records indicating the item checked/verified, the name of the department personnel completing the check/verification, the date of the check/verification, and the status of the check/verification. These records shall be retained in the department’s personnel file for the associated employee. If prohibited parties and healthcare sanctions checks are performed, Human Resources shall maintain these files as well.
   12. The hiring department shall be responsible for any fees associated with any of the components of the background check process.

   
   
   Violations of University policies, including providing false or misleading information used for any of the above background checks, shall be handled in accordance with applicable University policies and procedures, which may include corrective action up to and including termination from the University; or termination of the ability to apply for positions at the University of Kentucky . Decisions regarding the withdrawal of an employment offer for staff positions as a result of a background check may be appealed to University Counsel, Human Resources, and the Associate Vice President for Institutional Equity for review. Decisions regarding the withdrawal of an employment offer for faculty positions as a result of a background check may be appealed to the Provost and Dean for review, in consultation with University Counsel, Human Resources and the Office of Institutional Equity.