To provide a safer campus environment for students, employees and visitors.

Except as otherwise provided in the UW System Criminal Background Check Policy or in this policy, UW-Platteville (UWP) shall conduct a criminal background check on each new hire for a University position.

• A ‘new hire’ in a faculty or academic staff position shall be defined as any prospective employee that is not currently a UW-Platteville employee or an employee of another UW System institution. A ‘new hire’ in classified service shall be defined as any prospective employee that is not currently a UW System or other State of Wisconsin agency employee. Current UWP employees or employees of other UW System institutions who are moving to a position within UWP, through transfer, promotion, or otherwise, will not be subject to a criminal background check unless such a check is otherwise required by law (e.g., the fiduciary responsibility law or caregiver law) the majority of the position’s duties will be performed within residential facilities, or unless they are candidates for certain positions of trust.
• Criminal background checks shall be conducted on candidates recommended for hire, either prior to the extension of an offer of employment, or as part of an offer of employment that is made contingent upon a successful criminal background check. Individuals may not commence employment until they have successfully completed a criminal background check except under special circumstances and approved by the Director of Human Resources or designee.
  
  Criminal background checks conducted on foreign nationals will be subject to the following provisions:
  
  A criminal history check will be conducted covering time in the United States if the period of time that the individual has been in the United States exceeds six months.
  
  A criminal history check in the individual's prior country(ies) of residence will be conducted only if their country(ies) of residence provide criminal background information. Media searches are not considered a criminal background search.
• If an individual being considered for a position has a criminal conviction or pending charge, UWP should then apply the factors listed in Section 3, below, to determine if there is a substantial relationship between the offense and the new job responsibilities. If a substantial relationship exists, UWP may decide that individual should not be employed in that position. If an offer has already been extended or, due to the presence of special circumstances as described in the preceding bullet or otherwise, employment has commenced, the offer should be rescinded and the appointment terminated.
• Information collected in connection with the background check will be treated confidentially to the extent permitted by the Wisconsin Public Records Act and other applicable laws. An individual or individuals in Human Resources will be designated as responsible for all aspects of conducting criminal background checks. Appropriate training shall be provided.
• UWP will comply with the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act and other applicable laws to ensure individuals are not discriminated against because of arrest or conviction records.
• The University may choose to conduct background checks for all vacancies in all types of employment without exception, in accordance with this policy. Any exceptions will need to be defensible with a clear and convincing reason for each category excepted. Possible exceptions include: temporary or limited term employees; hourly student employees; interns; and unpaid volunteers. A background check will be performed for any position in an exception job category with job duties covered by the Wisconsin Caregiver Law, Fiduciary Responsibility Law, or a similar law requiring a criminal background check or that UWP considers a position of trust or if the majority of the position's duties will be performed within residential facilities.

1. Hiring.
   UWP incorporates the following steps into its hiring process. This applies to all vacancies except student, temporary or limited term employees, interns, and unpaid volunteers who serve UWP in a capacity with duties similar to those of employees. However, those students and temporary or limited term employees, interns, unpaid volunteers who serve UWP in a capacity with duties similar to those of employees providing services to UWP in the following categories will be required to have a criminal background check conducted.
   • Day Care Workers and Other Caregiver Employees
     University of Wisconsin institutions that employ caregivers in day care centers must comply with the Wisconsin Caregiver Law and conduct criminal background checks on all prospective day care employees. Pursuant to Chapter 48 of the Wisconsin Statutes, the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services established a process that university employers must use to check the criminal backgrounds of all prospective day care employees. Moreover, University of Wisconsin institutions that employ caregivers in other university facilities or service units that provide direct care or treatment services to clients and that are required by law to be licensed, certified by, or registered with a State of Wisconsin regulatory agency, must comply with the Wisconsin Caregiver Law and conduct criminal background checks on all prospective caregiver employees.
   • Law Enforcement and Security Workers
     University of Wisconsin institutions are required to conduct criminal background checks of prospective police, security, and protective service employees, as is standard practice in the law enforcement field. All prospective university law enforcement employees are fingerprinted and undergo an extensive FBI background screening prior to their employment.
   • Positions with Access to Funds or with Fiduciary Responsibilities
     Wisconsin Act 350, enacted April 18, 2006, amended Chapter 230 of the Wisconsin Statutes and requires public university employers to conduct criminal background checks of applicants for positions that involve “fiduciary responsibility” and duties “which include access to funds administered” by the university. In its May 4, 2005 fiscal estimate narrative, Office of State Employment Relations (OSER) indicated that “positions that could be covered . . . include those in the following functional areas: accounting, auditing, financial management, accounts receivable, accounts payable, procurement, retail operations, tax and fee collections, payroll and handling of cash and checks.”
   • Positions with Access to Hazardous Agents or Materials
     University of Wisconsin institutions will conduct criminal background checks on prospective employees who will handle and work with hazardous agents or materials in campus labs, buildings or storage facilities, pursuant to the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 and the Agricultural Protection Act of 2002. These federal laws require entities to register with either the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services or Agriculture if they “possess, use or handle biological agents or toxins that could pose a severe threat to public health and safety; to animal or plant health; or animal or plant products.” As part of the requisite registration, these entities must conduct “security risk assessments,” which include the fingerprinting and FBI screening of individuals who will handle the select agents.
   1. Announcing a Vacancy - All full ads and vacancy announcements should contain the following statement: “Employment will require a criminal background check.”
      
      A pending criminal charge or conviction will not necessarily disqualify an applicant. In compliance with the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act, UWP does not discriminate on the basis of arrest or conviction record.
   2. Offering a Position - Criminal background checks may be completed prior to making an offer of employment. If a check is not completed before an offer is made, the check must be completed prior to commencement of employment, except in special cases approved by the Director of Human Resources or designee. In most cases, only the applicant being offered the position will be checked. However, there may be circumstances where more than one applicant is checked.
   3. Appointment Letters - If an appointment is offered contingent on the successful completion of a criminal background check, or an employee is permitted upon approval of the Director of Human Resources or designee to commence employment pending completion of a check, the appointment letter must state the appointment will be withdrawn or terminated if the individual’s criminal background check results are unacceptable. The following statement may be used in the appointment letter.
      
      “This appointment is conditional pending the results of a criminal background check. The appointment will be withdrawn or terminated if the results are unacceptable.”
   4. Consent Form - Prior to conducting a criminal background check, UWP will have the candidate sign a consent form. This form will specifically ask a candidate to self-disclose if he or she has ever been convicted of a crime or is currently facing criminal charges. Individuals who decline to sign the consent form will no longer be considered a candidate for the vacancy. A candidate will submit the consent form directly to Human Resources where it will be maintained in confidence to the extent permitted by the Wisconsin Public Records Act and other applicable laws.
2. Conducting Criminal Background Checks.
   Criminal background checks will be performed by the Human Resources Office to include checks of records in all jurisdictions deemed prudent. The following process will be used:
   1. Human Resources Director or designee will be responsible for all activities involved with the checks including determining the scope, conducting checks, referring checks to outside vendors and making recommendations on results. A key component of this role involves keeping information confidential except on a need-to-know basis or as required by the Public Records Act.
   2. UWP will contract with HireRight, Inc., a private, commercial background check vendor, to conduct certain checks.
   3. The employing unit or department is responsible for notifying Human Resources that a check needs to be conducted. Human Resources will obtain the completed consent form directly from the candidate. Any available resume/vita/employment application also should be provided to Human Resources. Human Resources will take the information and determine the scope of the check. All costs associated with conducting the background check will be incurred by Human Resources department.
   4. If a final candidate has lived only in Wisconsin and has no employment history outside of the state, Human Resources may conduct the check in-house by using the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) State of Wisconsin Criminal Background Check process and the Wisconsin Sex Offender Registry, as well as any other similar on-line databases. In the alternative, UWP may use a private, commercial background check vendor to conduct these checks. UWP may also choose to use a hybrid approach that involves performing a social security number trace and sex offender check through a vendor. If the result of the social security number trace is residence only in Wisconsin, UWP may complete the background check by using the DOJ and the Wisconsin Sex Offender Register check process.
   5. Out-of-state checks must be done if the final candidate has an employment history outside of Wisconsin or has lived outside the state. UWP Human Resources can conduct these checks in-house by utilizing information the candidate has provided (resume/vita, reference check information, past employment information, consent form, etc.) and accessing available criminal records in other states. In the alternative, UWP may use a private, commercial background check vendor like HireRight, Inc. which is currently under contract with UWP.
      
      The standard package for out-of-state and in-state criminal background checks conducted through HireRight, Inc. shall include:
      • Social Security Number Trace - Authenticates applicant's information and generates a list of addresses the applicant has lived at for the last seven years; as part of the trace, UWP may verify that the social security number is valid and appropriately assigned to the applicant
      • Criminal Felony/Misdemeanor by county of residence - superior and municipal court records in any county in the US
      • Sex Offender Registry - sex offender search by state
      Additional criminal and non-criminal checks (e.g. motor vehicle, etc.) may be run when appropriate in relation to the position.
      
      UWP is required to comply with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) if it uses a private vendor.
3. Making the Decision Regarding Substantial Relationship.
   Once the criminal background check is completed, UWP will need to make a decision based on the information gathered. Wisconsin’s Fair Employment Act states that employers cannot discriminate against prospective or current employees based on past or pending arrests or convictions. There are exceptions to this requirement if a “pending criminal charge” or “conviction record” is determined to be “substantially” related to the “circumstances of the particular job.” To determine if there is a relationship, UWP needs to review the circumstances of an offense, where it happened, when, etc. - compared to the circumstances of a job - where is the job typically done, when, etc. The more similar the circumstances, the more likely a “substantial” relationship exists.
   
   Accordingly, if the check uncovers a pending criminal charge or a criminal conviction, UWP’s provost (or designee) or UWP’s vice chancellor for administration (or designee), as appropriate, will consult with UWP’s Director of Human Resources and UWP's legal counsel, to determine whether the criminal activity is substantially related to the functions of the position. UWP’s provost or designee shall be the decision-maker for all faculty positions, as well as all academic staff positions or other positions that are within divisions, departments or other administrative structures that ultimately report to the provost. UWP’s vice chancellor for administration or designee shall be the decision-maker for all classified positions, as well as academic staff positions or other positions that are within divisions, departments or other administrative structures that ultimately report to the vice chancellor. On behalf of the provost or the vice chancellor for administration, Human Resources may consult with other offices and individuals, inside and outside of UWP (including UWP’s police department), as appropriate to determine whether a substantial relationship exists while maintaining strict confidentiality.
   
   In reviewing the results of a criminal history background check on an individual applicant, UWP will review each applicant on a case-by-case basis and consider the following factors in order to determine whether there is a substantial relationship between the pending charge or conviction and the position and whether the applicant should be further considered for the position:
   
   The Offense. The nature, severity and intentionality of the offense(s) including but not limited to:
   1. The statutory elements of the offense (rather than the individual’s account of the facts of the offense);
   2. The individual’s age at the time of the offense(s);
   3. Number and type of offenses (felony, misdemeanor, traffic, other);
   4. Time elapsed since the last offense;
   5. The individual’s probation or parole status;
   6. Whether the circumstances arose out of an employment situation; and
   7. Whether there is a pattern of offenses.
   The Position. The duties, responsibilities and circumstances of the position applied for, including but not limited to:
   1. The nature and scope of the position, including key access to residential facilities, key access to other facilities, access to cash and access to vulnerable populations, including minor children;
   2. The nature and scope of the position's student, public or other interpersonal contact;
   3. The nature and scope of the position’s autonomy and discretionary authority;
   4. The amount and type of supervision received in the position or provided to subordinate staff;
   5. The sensitive nature of the data or records maintained or to which the position has access;
   6. The opportunity presented for the commission of additional offenses; and
   7. The extent to which acceptable job performance requires the trust and confidence of the employer, UWP or the public. Using these and other appropriate factors, the provost or the vice chancellor for administration (or their respective designees) in consultation with Human Resources, legal counsel and affirmative action, will make the final determination on whether to appoint or reject the candidate on the basis of a criminal background check. Human Resources will be responsible for documenting the basis for the decision to appoint or to refuse to appoint a candidate based on the criminal background check review.
4. Candidate Notification of Negative Results.
   If a candidate is not selected based on the criminal background check results, the results will be provided and the candidate will be given a three working day time period to refute the information. Additional time extensions may be provided to the candidate at the sole discretion of UWP. If a private, commercial background check vendor is used, UWP and the vendor will need to ensure compliance with the federal FCRA.
5. Keeping Records.
   Records gathered as a result of a criminal background check will be kept by UWP’s Director of Human Resources in separate, sealed files segmented by the applicant/employee’s name. The files will be maintained separately from an applicant/employee’s general personnel records. These records should include:
   • Consent Form
   • Information collected from the check
   • Analysis and decision whether criminal activity (if any) was substantially related to position
   • Correspondence related to criminal background check
   The records will be securely maintained for a period of seven years after the position has been filled, and may be accessed only on a need-to-know basis or as required by applicable law.
6. Other Background Checks/Evaluations.
   As noted previously, other types of background checks and/or evaluations may be utilized due to the nature of particular positions. Examples include checks required under Wisconsin's Caregiver Law (Wisconsin Statutes, Chapters 48 and 50) and Fiduciary Responsibility Law (Wisconsin Statutes, Section 230.17(3)). Additionally, the nature of certain positions could involve the need to conduct non-criminal background checks such as drug analyses, psychological evaluations, and credit checks. Nothing in this policy precludes UWP from conducting position specific checks (criminal and non-criminal) on an as-needed basis.

Any questions related to this policy, including interpretations and resource locations, should be directed to UWP’s Human Resources Office.