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Employees who apply for jobs at Marshall University or Marshall Community and Technical College must now undergo background checks.

The Board of Governors passed the background check provision, Policy No. HR-14, during its Oct. 16 meeting, marking the first time the university has required background checks campuswide, the policy said.

“We hope, though, that departments have been performing these checks for a while because it’s a sound hiring practice,” Jim Stephens, human resources director, said.

Stephens sent an e-mail to the university faculty listserv Jan. 31 stating the new policy affects all faculty and staff hired on or after Nov. 1, the policy’s effective date.

Current faculty and staff who apply for new positions will be exempt from a background check as well, Stephens said.
Some positions will require more than the basic checks, however.

New employees in upper administrative positions must also undergo a credit history check under the policy, and new full-time healthcare and research employees must also undergo a “healthcare sanctions check.”

The healthcare sanctions check will look for people whom state licensing boards and others have “determined to be fraudulent in their field,” as stated in the policy.

The policy requires background checks to be conducted and completed prior to beginning work, but the president of the employee’s respective institution can grant a deadline waiver to allow employment to begin on time.

However, the background check must still be completed, Stephens said.

Any information found in the background checks, including criminal history, has been deemed confidential and will be released “only in a matter consistent with applicable law,” the policy said.

The Human Resources Web site’s Feb. 1 recruiting bulletin indicates no background check is required for two posted jobs at the Marshall University Research Corporation.

MURC has shown interest in partnering with Marshall and 12 other institutions across the state in implementing the background check program.

However, MURC management must give its approval first due to its officially separate status from the university, Stephens said.

Other exemptions noted in the policy include adjunct faculty, student employees in general and applicants who underwent a university background check within the past 12 months.

Student employees required to undergo background checks include those applying for health and research positions, as well as those who must regularly interact with minors, as stated in the policy.

Nearly every new employee who has undergone a background check under the new policy has passed so far, Stephens said.

Marshall’s Human Resources and hiring departments will control the progress of the background checks in house.

They plan on using third party vendors to aid in conducting the checks, Stephens said.

The policy states new full-time employees will undergo verification of the last 10 years of employment.

There will be verification of all postsecondary education credentials listed on any correspondence.

Those employees will also undergo criminal background checks in all places they have lived in the past 10 years, as well as a sex and violent offender registry check in all locations they have ever lived.

Part-time hires will undergo only the criminal history and sex and violent offender registry checks, according to the policy.

By: Deven Swartz

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