What is the policy regarding Criminal Background Checks?

• Before any initial hire may begin employment or attend New Employee Orientation the university must complete a CBC. Initial hires are defined as not having been established within the university payroll system in a 12 month period. This policy will cover anyone who may receive a paycheck from the university payroll system via completing the I-9 documentation.
• This requirement has been made effective by Kentucky law as of July 12, 2006.

Can anyone begin employment before a Criminal Background Check is complete?

• Temporaries employed through University Temporary Services may begin working if the CBC is in an initiated status. Student workers under the pay group S26 may begin employment if the CBC has been submitted, or in submitted status, prior to beginning work. Foreign Nationals without a social security number who have been in the country less than 30 days may begin employment if the CBC has been initiated prior to beginning work.

Who is required to complete a Criminal Background Check?

• All initial hires to the university will require a CBC. This includes all Staff, Faculty, Administrator and non-stipendiary student workers.
• Depending on the position, if a candidate has worked with the university within the past 12 months, the candidate will not require a CBC unless they are hired or transferred to a department or job that already requires or requests a background check or coming from a paygroup that was previously exempt.

Who are the exceptions to this requirement?

• Until further notice, individuals in the following pay groups will not be subject to CBCs: G12 (Graduate Fellows and Assistants), H12 (House Staff), and D12 (Doctoral Trainees), Hand Fellows, and Federal Work Study students.
• Any D12, G12, or H12 candidate moving to a non-exempt paygroup such as P12, B24 or B25 much have a CBC completed prior to the effective date of transfer.
  
• Faculty and Administrator hires with board approval no later than July 11, 2006 with future effective dates will not require a CBC.
• Individuals in the pay group N26 will not require a CBC as this category is reserved for Non-Wage Payment.

What if my candidate is a minor (under the age of 18)?

• Candidates under the age of 18 will need to have a parent or guardian sign the authorization form for the CBC. Please contact your Employment Services Rep if you have questions or need to discuss a minor candidate.

What about Temporaries from Temporary Agencies?

• Temporaries brought into the University through Temp Agencies must complete a criminal background check through the Temp Agency before they can work at the University.

When can I hire the candidate and send them to orientation?

• For the following pay groups the hire date must be after the completion of the criminal background check: A12, AFB, AFM, B24, B25, F11, F12, F51, L11, L12, P12, R12, T12, and T26. Candidates in these pay groups cannot be hired or sent to orientation until their CBC is complete and cleared. Students in the S26 pay group (except Federal Work Study) may be hired with the CBC in submitted status.
• Foreign Nationals without a social security number may be hired and can attend orientation when the CBC is in the initiated status and the authorization form has been faxed to Employment Services.

How do I proceed with a Foreign National Criminal Background Check without a Social Security Number?

• Initiate the CBC for the Foreign National as soon as they have accepted the provisional (pending the background check) offer of employment. Leave the SS information blank on the CBC Panel. Fax the CBC authorization form to Employment Services. Foreign Nationals must apply for the SS card within 11 business days of beginning work. Payroll must receive the receipt for the application within 13 business days of beginning work. 30 days after the receipt date the Foreign National must present their SS card to Payroll or notify Payroll that the SS card has not been received. 60 days after the date of the receipt the Foreign National must present the SS card to Payroll or be placed on LOA until the card is received. The department should complete the SS information, correct the address information on the CBC panel and send an e-mail to notify Payroll and Employment Services of the update once the SS number has been assigned.
  
• Once the Social Security Number and address have been entered in PeopleSoft on the appropriate CBC panel, the CBC will be submitted to the vendor.

How do I submit a Criminal Background Check request?

• All department contacts conducting CBC’s must attend a CBC training session. A security form must be completed and signed by the user’s supervisor. You will be notified once security is set up.
• Once security access has been granted, the department contact should be ready to proceed with the CBC process and requests.

What do I do with the CBC Authorization Forms signed by the candidate?

• CBC authorization forms should be faxed to Employment Services at (502) 852-5665. CBCs will not be submitted until the authorization form is received by Employment Services. CBC authorization form originals should be included in: Temp packet for temporaries. Triptych for Faculty.
• New Hire packets for Staff or Students, or send with them to the Orientation.

Who is responsible and what is the cost of the Criminal Background Check?

• The department requesting the CBC will be responsible for the cost. Enter the appropriate speedtype on the request panel as required for billing purposes. The cost of the CBC is $40 per check. Searches in the state of New York are an additional $55 per check. We will not know if a New York state check is necessary until the National check is completed. Cost for Alias Name Searches: There will be an additional cost for $10.00 (per name) for searches requesting an alias name. This includes any maiden names, nicknames, and so on. Before requesting the search, confirm with the candidate(s) if they have used the name within the last seven years.
  
• Effective September 1, 2008, standard CBC's will be $15 plus the total of State specific fees wherever a person has lived for the last seven years. This will be charged per alias name. State fees are listed as follows:
• Kentucky: $13.50
• Indiana: $15.00
• Tennessee: state check not available, will utilize pricing option 2 (see below)
• Ohio: $22.00
• New York: $52.00
• Example: For an applicanat who has lived in Kentucky for the past 7 years expect to pay $28.50 if they have not had a name change, $42.00 if they have had one name change.
  
• Pricing Option 2: For applicants who have not lived in any states requiring a State fee, a flat charge of $31.00 will be charged. This pricing will only be available in circumstances when no statewide search is readily available.
• Student Assistant CBCs will be paid for by the department making the initial hire of the student. In a joint decision by the Offices of the Controller and Grants Management, it was agreed that the costs associated with performing CBCs are administrative in nature and therefore will be treated as indirect costs by this institution. Charges for CBCs are considered unallowable as a direct charge to a grant or sponsored program.
• University Temporary Services (UTS) will cover the cost of the CBC for all temporaries employed through UTS.
  
• The account code for CBCs has been designated as 545161 for payments of services related to criminal background checks on employees.

How do I know the Criminal Background Check is complete?

• If a CBC result is clear: The department contact(s) listed on the request panel will be notified via email of the authorization to proceed with the hiring of the candidate.
  
• If a CBC result has reviewable findings: The department contact(s) listed on the request panel will be contacted by phone by the Employment Services Rep assigned to the department or by Faculty Personnel for Faculty and Administrator candidates.

Who gets the Criminal Background Check information?

• Submission and results are received by Human Resources for staff and students and by Faculty Personnel for faculty and administrator candidates.

Who makes the final decision?

• Employment Services will evaluate any reviewable findings for staff and student candidates and will work with the corresponding department contacts on all student and staff personnel. Thus, Human Resources will make the final decision.
• Faculty Personnel will evaluate any reviewable findings for faculty and administrator candidates and will assist the corresponding department contacts all on faculty and administrator personnel. The Provost and hiring Dean or Vice President will make the final decision.

Who do I contact with questions or information?

• For staff and student hires contact Employment Services at employ@louisville.edu.
  
• For faculty and administrator hires contact Faculty Personnel at FACPERS@louisville.edu.
• Information regarding Foreign National application or receipt of a social security number should be faxed to (502) 852-5665, attention: Linda Lynch or Evangelene Holt.

Return to Employment Resources.