Background Checks
Cape Fear Community College is committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment for students, employees, and all visitors to the College. Therefore, the College shall conduct background checks on all prospective new employees, volunteers, contractors, and current employees as set forth in this policy.
A background check shall be required of all potential College new hires after a conditional job offer has been made. Current employees, both part-time and full-time, contractors, and volunteers may be subject to background checks and ongoing monitoring as required to meet the business needs of the College. This may require annual re-checks. The Human Resources Office, under the direction of the Vice President of Human Resources, will be responsible for working with a third-party provider to conduct background checks. The Human Resources Office shall secure and store the information obtained separately from the main personnel file and shall consider only information pertinent for decision-making that ensures the protection of College students, employees, other visitors, and College assets. Background information will be kept on file for five (5) years.
Previous convictions shall not automatically disqualify an individual from consideration for employment or continued employment with the College. The President and the Vice President of Human Resources will evaluate the following factors in determining whether to hire an applicant with a criminal history and, when necessary, in determining the continued employment or contractual relationship of an employee, contractor, or volunteer with a criminal record: the nature of the crime and its relationship to the position; the amount of time since the conviction; the number of convictions; whether hiring the applicant would pose a risk to the College, students, employees or other campus visitors; the actions and activities of the individual since the conviction; explanations or other information provided by the individual; and whether the individual has demonstrated that they have the integrity or honesty to fulfill the duties of the position.
The discovery of either a conviction(s) or falsified conviction(s) information may result in denial of employment or continued employment. If an applicant, contractor, volunteer, or employee fails to reveal previous convictions, then they may be disqualified from employment at Cape Fear Community College for falsification of an application, regardless of when discovered. The applicant, contractor, volunteer, or employee will be provided a copy of the criminal record and given an opportunity to review the results of the background check. The applicant, contractor, volunteer, or employee will be allowed a reasonable opportunity to dispute the accuracy or completeness of any information contained in the report by contacting the third-party provider that conducted the background check. The College will promptly consider information derived from such an opportunity.
The President shall have final authority in determining the employability of the applicant or the continued employment or contractual relationship of an employee, contractor, or volunteer. The President shall also be responsible for determining the appropriate background checks required for each position based on specific program agreements, applicable laws, or other such position or business requirements.
Definitions
New Employees – All individuals with conditional offers for any position with the College, including part-time, full-time, or temporary employment, both instructional and non-instructional. This also includes former employees being rehired who have not been employed by the College in the past twelve (12) months.
Background Checks – Includes information necessary to comply with the business needs of the College. This may include, but not be limited to, information from any of the following:
- Nationwide or State Sex Offender Registries
- Department of Corrections Databases
- Residency History Checks
- Federal Records
- Multi-State Criminal Indexes
- Social Security Number Verifications
- Credit Reports
- Any other records, as required
