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Background Checks for Critical Positions

  1. Summary


    The University of California, Santa Cruz requires pre-employment criminal history background checks via Live Scan through the State of California, Department of Justice (DOJ) or through outside vendors. This applies for candidates selected to fill a critical position (including volunteers, academics and special cases) and for employees who have had changes to their positions via a classification review, assignment of new duties (equity or stipend), updated job description, or who have been hired or transferred into another position on campus. In the case of a job recruitment, classification action or assumption of a volunteer position, academic and special cases, offers for the new position or new duties, either oral or written, are contingent upon completion of the criminal history background check.

    *Live Scan services are available by appointment only. For appointment information please contact LiveScan Services. Here is the link to the live scan request form to begin the background processing through live scan services. The instructions will be sent during this process to set up an appointment.

    For more information on background checks and what constitutes a critical position, please see PPSM-21: Selection and Appointment (describes the process for selecting and appointing candidates for employment, including background checks, reference checks, and employment eligibility verification, as well as the employment of near relatives) and/or Union Agreements. If a supervisor requires assistance in determining which critical function(s) applies to the position, they should contact their Compensation Analyst for staff or their Payroll Administration Timekeeper (PAT) for student workers.

    All candidates or current employees who reside outside of California must undergo a background check via an outside vendor. However, the employee must still undergo a DOJ Live Scan inside of California.

    Questions regarding the status of pending background check results should be directed to Talent Acquisition for staff, and to their Payroll Administration Timekeeper (PAT) for student workers. Volunteer coordinators, may contact the SHR Background Check Team at backgrnd@ucsc.edu.

  2. Related Policies, Contract Articles and References

    1. Personnel Policies for Staff Members (PPSM) - Employees not covered by a collective bargaining agreement

    2. Union Agreements - Employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement

  3. Process Overview

    1. Initiation of the Live Scan Background Check

      1. In the case of recruitment, once a conditional offer for a critical position has been extended to the candidate, the Talent Acquisition Consultant (TAC) will submit the Live Scan Service Request Form. This generally takes a few hours to process.

        1. For classification review and/or updated job description actions, the supervisor will be prompted by an email generated via ServiceNow to submit the Live Scan Service Request Form for Hiring Units.

        2. For volunteers, academics and special cases, the Supervisor must submit a Live Scan Service Request Form for Hiring Units as soon as they identify a volunteer, academic or special case candidate.

      2. The candidate/employee/volunteer/academic/special case individual will receive an email from Live Scan Services with a link to the Live Scan request form and the appointment calendar.

      3. The Hiring Manager and candidate/employee/volunteer/academic/special case individual will be informed via email from Live Scan Services that they can now move forward with the fingerprinting process.

      4. The candidate/employee/volunteer/academic/special case individual must go to UC Santa Cruz Live Scan Services on campus or another accepted Live Scan vendor if completing fingerprinting off campus. A valid government-issued photo ID and social security number are required for processing.

      5. When completing the LiveScan form, there is an option to choose on or off campus live scan services. Once the on or off campus option has been selected, information on how to proceed will be sent from Live Scan Services via email.

    2. Background Assessment Process

      1. The SHR Business Administration, Policy, Process and Resources (BAPPR) team will receive the Background Check (Live Scan) results from the CA DOJ/FBI or an outside vendor.

      2. If the background check does not contain Potentially Disqualifying Information (PDI), the process may proceed.

      3. If the results contain PDI, the information will be routed to the appropriate team for review.

    3. Results Processing - Receipt of results from the DOJ can take an indeterminate amount of time. These are the following results that we receive from CA DOJ:

      1. If There Is No Potentially Disqualifying Information (PDI)

        1. In the case of a Staff job recruitment, the Hiring Manager and Talent Acquisition (hiring@ucsc.edu) will receive an email from the SHR Background Check Team (backgrnd@ucsc.edu) indicating that the candidate has no information that would disqualify their employment. The conditional job offer will be finalized with the candidate by the Talent Acquisition Consultant (TAC) and a job start date will be established.

        2. In the case of classification reviews and/or updated job descriptions, the Supervisor and the Compensation Team (shr-comp-group@ucsc.edu) will receive an email from the SHR Background Check Team (backgrnd@ucsc.edu) indicating that the employee has no disqualifying information. The action will then be completed.

        3. In the case of a Student job recruitment, the Payroll Administration & Timekeeping (PAT) Background Group (pat-background-group@ucsc.edu) will receive an email from the SHR Background Check Team (backgrnd@ucsc.edu) indicating that the candidate has no information that would disqualify their employment. The PAT Background Team will inform the hiring supervisor and they will then finalize the hire.

        4. In the case of Volunteers and Academics, the volunteer coordinator and/or supervisor (HM-Hiring Manager) will receive an email from the SHR Background Check Team (backgrnd@ucsc.edu) indicating that the volunteer/academic and special cases applicant has no information that would disqualify them from volunteering or working.

      2. If There Is Potentially Disqualifying Information (PDI)

        1. If the background check contains criminal conviction or other PDI that may disqualify the individual from employment or volunteering in the critical position, the PDI must be formally assessed based on certain criteria, dictated by policy outlined in PPSM-21 III-D-3, to determine if it is disqualifying. The candidate/volunteer will be notified of the preliminary decision of disqualification from employment and be provided a copy of the PDI and a copy of the PPSM-21 policy.

        2. If it is determined that the criminal conviction or other PDI does not disqualify the candidate/volunteer/employee from employment:

          1. In the case of a Staff job recruitment, the Hiring Manager and Talent Acquisition will receive an email from the SHR Background Check Team (backgrnd@ucsc.edu) indicating that the candidate has no information that would disqualify their employment. The conditional job offer will be finalized with the candidate by the Talent Acquisition Consultant (TAC) and a job start date will be established.
          2. In the case of classification reviews and/or updated job descriptions, the Supervisor and the Compensation Team (shr-comp-group@ucsc.edu) will receive an email from the SHR Background Check Team (backgrnd@ucsc.edu) indicating that the employee has no disqualifying information. The action will then be completed.
          3. In the case of a Student job recruitment, the PAT Background Group (pat-background-group@ucsc.edu) will receive an email from the SHR Background Check Team (backgrnd@ucsc.edu) indicating that the candidate has no information that would disqualify their employment. The Payroll Administration Timekeeper (PAT) will inform the hiring supervisor and they will then finalize the hiring.
          4. In the case of Volunteers and Academics, the volunteer coordinator and/or supervisor (HM-Hiring Manager) will receive an email from the SHR Background Check Team (backgrnd@ucsc.edu) indicating that the volunteer/academic applicant has no information that would disqualify them from volunteering/working.
        3. If the Assessment Team (A-Team) determines that the conviction history or other PDI does disqualify the candidate/employee/volunteer from employment/volunteering; they will receive a letter that indicates they have 5 days to respond with supplementary documentation or information showing that the conviction information is factually inaccurate. If a volunteer is disqualified, the information will be routed to the A-Team Members who will then determine if there is a nexus to their volunteer duties. The A-Team Members will use this information received and follow the specific guidelines covered under the PDI process review sections of PPSM-21 policy.
        4. If an Academic hire is disqualified, the information will be routed to the APO Director who will be conducting the assessment for academic PDIs.
        5. Throughout this process for the candidates, staff, volunteers and student employees that apply, the Volunteer Coordinator / Hiring Manager and appropriate SHR department will be provided updates while maintaining the confidentiality of the results (Talent Acquisition for staff job recruitments, Compensation Team for classification reviews and/or updated job descriptions, PAT (for Students) will be provided updates while maintaining the confidentiality of the background check results.
        6. If no supplementary information is provided:
          1. If the candidate, staff, volunteer and/or student employee does not respond, the candidate, staff, volunteer and/or student is disqualified from the job and the conditional job offer is officially rescinded. The candidate, staff, volunteer and/or student employee will receive a final letter informing them that they have been disqualified from employment.
        7. If supplementary information is provided:
          1. It will be assessed before making a final decision to rescind the conditional job offer or not.
            1. If the supplementary documentation is not sufficient to show that the conviction information is factually inaccurate, the candidate, staff, volunteer, or student employee will receive a final letter informing them that they have been disqualified from employment.
            2. If the supplementary documentation is sufficient to show that the conviction information is factually inaccurate, the hiring or employee action may carry on into completion.

      3. Delay

        1. “Delay” emails will be sent to Talent Acquisition and the Hiring Manager for staff job recruitments, Compensation Team for classification reviews and/or updated job descriptions, PAT Background Group for Students, Hiring Manager for Volunteers and/or others that are applicable.

        2. The Hiring Manager and Talent Acquisition will receive an email from the SHR Background Check Team (backgrnd@ucsc.edu) indicating that there is a delay with the candidate’s background check.

          1. When there is a delay in the results, the background check requires manual intervention by the background check service provider and will take time to complete. Questions related to the delay (that can be caused by many factors) cannot be responded to as there is no pertinent information that can be statutorily provided until the review of all relevant information is complete.

      4. Reject

        1. “Reject” emails will be sent to Talent Acquisition and the Hiring Manager for staff job recruitments, Compensation Team for classification reviews and/or updated job descriptions, PAT Background Group for Students, Hiring Manager for Volunteers/Academic/special cases. The email from the SHR Background Check Team (backgrnd@ucsc.edu) indicates that the candidate’s/employee’s/volunteer’s etc. fingerprints were rejected by the DOJ and they must be re-scanned.
        2. The candidate must go back to UC Santa Cruz Live Scan Services or the original DOJ LiveScan service provider to complete the rescan process a second time.
          1. They must provide the original ATI number (the number that identifies their background check submission to the DOJ which is included in the “Reject” email) to the Live Scan Technician.

    4. Outside Vendor Background Checks for Candidates Currently Residing Outside of California

      1. Talent Acquisition will inform the Hiring Manager that their candidate must undergo a criminal history background check via an outside vendor.
      2. The Hiring Unit creates a Purchase Order for the outside vendor through CruzBuy in the amount specified in the communication from Talent Acquisition.
      3. Hiring Unit will email backgrnd@ucsc.edu with the following information:
        1. PO # (attached to the conditional offer email)
        2. Candidates full legal name
        3. Candidates personal email address (used to initiate the process)
      4. The criminal history background check for the outside vendor is initiated by SHR.
      5. An invitation from the outside vendor is sent to the candidate for them to submit their confidential personal information.
      6. The outside vendor starts their process for a background check.
      7. Background check results are received by the background check team. If there is a PDI, the results will be assessed in accordance with PPSM-21. 
      8. The outcome of this assessment will be conveyed to Talent Acquisition and the Hiring Manager for staff job recruitments, Compensation Team for classification reviews and/or updated job descriptions, PAT Background Group for Students, Hiring Manager for Volunteers/Academics/special cases.
      9. The Hiring Manager for staff job recruitments, Compensation Team for classification reviews and/or updated job descriptions, PAT Background Group for Students, Hiring Manager for Volunteers/Academics/special cases will take the next steps to finalize or rescind the conditional offer.

        If your employee is undergoing a classification review and/or an updated job description that requires an outside vendor background check, you will receive email instructions about this process that are similar to the ones above. If you have additional questions after receiving that email, please contact the sender of that email.

    5. Ongoing Subsequent Arrest for Staff, Students, Volunteers and Academics

      Once a background check has cleared and the individual is now in the Department of Justice's (DOJ) portal, the SHR Background Check Team may receive subsequent arrest information for Staff, Students, Volunteers and Academics who are in critical positions. Once they are terminated from UC Santa Cruz, a No Longer Interested (NLI) request will be processed and these notifications will no longer be received from the Department of Justice to protect the privacy of the individual. The Payroll Administration and Timekeeping (PAT) Team will initiate the NLI requests for staff, students and non-UCSC Students. For volunteers, academic or special case projects the Volunteer Coordinator will submit a Google document to the Background Check Team informing them that the Background check results are no longer needed. The NLIs must be received within 5 days of the individuals' termination.

      Access to subsequent arrest information is strictly controlled. Failure to properly protect the confidentiality of information obtained from the DOJ can incur penalties under California Penal Code Section. 11140, 11142, and 11143.
      1. The SHR Background Administrative Assistant is authorized to receive and/or disclose information received from the DOJ regarding subsequent arrests.
      2. When SHR receives notice of a subsequent arrest, the information is immediately routed to the appropriate team for action. This could include the Employee Relations Analyst, A-Team Members, the APO Academic Director and Campus Council.
      3. The A-Team convenes to review the PDI. They will make their assessment based on the criteria dictated by the PPSM-21 policy and on occasion with the guidance of Campus Counsel.
      4. Personnel actions (i.e. administrative leave, dismissal) would only occur after a full and fair employment investigation is conducted and the employee/volunteer is granted due process in whatever action is taken.

    6. Processing No Longer Interested (NLI) Forms

The DOJ will notify the University when an individual who previously underwent a Live Scan background check has subsequent dispositions. The University is required by law to notify the DOJ when we no longer have a need to know this information. Thus a NLI form must be processed when an employee leaves a critical position. For staff and student employees, the PAT team will submit NLI requests. For volunteers, the volunteer coordinator provides a list directly to the background check team via an existing internal process or Google doc. This same process includes Academics.

IV. Forms/Resources