The UMD background check process supports the Board of Regents policies: Employee Recruitment and Retention and Safety of Minors. It furthers important University efforts to provide a safe and secure environment for all University students, employees, and visitors to protect its funds, property, and other assets. Therefore, the University provides this formal process of background checks and verification (1) to minimize institutional risk; (2) to comply with federal and state regulations that require it for specific positions; and (3) to help responsible hiring authorities make sound hires.
The University’s Background Check Policy covers:
- individuals being offered employment in, or being transferred or reassigned to, non-student positions;
- individuals, including non-employees and student workers, being assigned duties where checks are legally or contractually required;
- Non-employees, including student workers, who are assigned duties that include security-sensitive work; and,
- pursuant to the administrative policy, Safety of Minors, paid and unpaid individuals interacting with or overseeing minors in program activities or recreational or residential facilities.
Departments, units, and colleges are responsible for initiating background checks through their TDX Requester or Technician who will utilize the Background Check TDX, Hire TDX, Person of Interest TDX or Mass Changes TDX. The department, unit, or college will incur the charges associated with their background checks and must include their appropriate EFS on the TDX.
For positions where background checks are required, they must be successfully completed and passed prior to the individual’s first day of work.
Temporary non-student positions are covered under the policy and a background check is required to be successfully completed and passed prior to the individual’s first day of work.
Student worker positions are not covered under the University’s Administrative Policy: Background Checks and Verifications unless a background check is required under law, a contract (such as a research grant), required by the unit, involves work with minors under the Administrative Policy: Safety of Minors, has been identified by the University as requiring a background check based on duties performed, or where the University has already established a practice of conducting these checks. UMD HR strongly recommends the practice of conducting background checks on student workers in an effort to provide a safe and secure environment for all University students, employees, and visitors as well as to protect the University’s funds, property, and other assets. More information can be found in the Appendix - Positions for Which Background Verification Is Advisable.
Non-employees, including student workers, are required to successfully complete a background check if they will be performing security-sensitive work similar to that listed in Appendix - Background Check Requirements for Non-Employees. Security-sensitive duties include but are not limited to, having access to cash, checks, and credit cards, possession of keys, access to security-sensitive areas, access to personally identifiable information about students, faculty, staff, or alumni, access to financial, health care, student or other confidential information, etc. For positions where background checks are required, they must be successfully completed and passed prior to the individual’s first day of work.
**Important Notes**
- Background checks must be successfully completed and passed prior to the first day of work. Please plan accordingly.
- All employees who are promoted (by a selection process) require successful completion and passing of a background check prior to starting their new position.
- Employees who are reclassified (resulting from the evaluation of their current position) do not require a background check.
- Employees who transfer or are reassigned require successful completion and passing of a background check if the new role is substantially different from the employee’s previous role.
- If an employee’s appointment at the University ends and the employee is subsequently rehired in the same or similar position within 12 months of their end date, a new background check is not required. If it has been more than 12 months since their end date, a new background check is required to be successfully completed and passed prior to the first day of work.
- Standard package background checks submitted as international or safety of minors are valid for 3 years.
Questions:
If you have any questions regarding background checks that you have already requested through a TDX, please ask those via the TDX. If you have general background check questions or wish to have UMD HR work with you to request a Background Check Exception for one that has already been pending for 5 days, please contact UMD HR via email at [email protected] or by phone at 218-726-7161.