Policy 225: Background Checks

225.1 Policy

College of Eastern Idaho conducts background checks to promote a safe learning and working environment and to protect the welfare of students, faculty, staff, and visitors to the college. The human resources department is solely authorized to conduct and oversee the background check process. All offers of employment for faculty and staff positions will be contingent on successfully passing a background check. Under certain circumstances, current CEI employees will be required to undergo a background check.

College of Eastern Idaho reserves the right to conduct a background investigation at any time as a matter of law or based on the nature of the position.

Background checks will be conducted using a contracted third party.

225.2 Procedures

As part of our standard employment screening process, we conduct a comprehensive nationwide background check. This check includes a review of your criminal records, a social security trace, and a verification of addresses spanning the last seven years. In addition to our standard background checks, it's important to note that employees in our Security and Maintenance departments will undergo a check on their Motor Vehicle Reports (MVR).  Furthermore, positions related to finance and accounting may require a credit check, with the understanding that this assessment may have a minimal impact on credit.  This process helps ensure a secure and trustworthy work environment for both our employees and our organization.  

Background Checks for Job Finalists

1. Finalists for all positions, including volunteer and intern positions, will be informed during the pre-employment process that any offer of employment is contingent upon satisfactory completion of a background check.
2. Prior to conducting the background check, a written or electronic consent will be obtained from the finalists. Refusal to authorize the background check will make the finalist ineligible for employment.
3. Background checks must be completed as a condition of employment before the individual begins work, in any capacity, at CEI.
4. Human resources may request additional information from the new employee to run the background check, as necessary.
5. Human resources notifies the hiring manager if the result of the background check is not satisfactory.
6. The human resources vice president, in consultation with the appropriate manager, will determine if the offer needs to be rescinded in cases where the results of the background check are not satisfactory.
7. The human resources vice president will contact the prospective new employee if the offer is rescinded due to a failed background check. Notification is followed up with a formal letter to that individual.
8. Human resources keeps the results of all background checks in a confidential file.

Background Checks for Current Employees

Prior to conducting the background check, a written or electronic consent will be obtained from the employee. Refusal to authorize the background check will make the employee ineligible for continued employment.

A criminal history background check will be required when:

• A current employee has no background check on file.
• A current employee with any disciplinary action in their employment file applies for a position and the check on file is more than 3 years old.
• A former employee has a break in service of 1 year or more, and the previous check is more than 3 years old.
• A student employee moves to a non-student position.

All employees, have an ongoing responsibility during their employment to make CEI aware of any felony or misdemeanor convictions or pleas which are acknowledgements of responsibility. Any convictions or pleas should be reported to Human Resources.

Any findings of concern will be reviewed by the vice president of human resources. Actions will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Confidentiality

Information secured for the purpose of extending, maintaining, or retracting an offer of employment will be confidentially maintained by the human resources department. For the purpose of making decisions, report contents or portions of the content may be shared with appropriate individuals who have a legitimate business need to know as determined by the human resources vice president.

Information discovered through the background check process will be used solely for the purpose of evaluating a finalist’s suitability for employment and will not be used to discriminate against a finalist on the basis of race, color, religion/creed, sex/gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, genetic information, marital/familial status, disability, military, veteran status, or any other protected status.