Background Checks at Penn State

Penn State has changed its policy, which has been placed in effect as of July 5^th. Under the new policy, those who are chosen for employment in Penn State are going to have to undergo a background check before it will be decided as to whether or not they can work at Penn State University. Several different policies have been put together in the new policy, HR99. It is believed that the background checks are very important and will also keep the university in compliance with the guidelines that have recently been set by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity.

The associate vice president of Human Resources for the university, Susan Basso, says that the purpose of performing these checks is to ensure that students and staff are in a safe environment. By following through with these procedures, the university will be able to make important decisions when it comes down to who they will hire for different position and it will also help to lower the chances of the university having to deal with any sort of potential risk. Under the new policy, it is clear that the potential candidate for the position will be reviewed to see if he or she has any sort of criminal history or any records of child abuse in the past. These background checks are only going to be used to decide if the candidate is, in fact, eligible to work for the university or not.

With this new policy put in place, even current employees are going to have to provide information about any criminal record they have, which includes any convictions or arrests that have been made. Those who do not provide accurate information will not be employed with Penn State University. The university wants to know who they are hiring or who they have hired and whether or not they have had any run-ins with the law in the past. The background check process will include a check of the candidate’s criminal history and their child abuse record but more information may be needed, ultimately depending on the particular position that the individual is applying for. This does not mean that individuals with a criminal conviction are going to be denied employment. Instead, the university plans to look into such convictions to decide whether or not they will continue to hire the individual or choose someone else for the position instead. Basso says that with the new policy, this is the best available practice for choosing the right candidates and following safety measures to ensure that everyone is safe at Penn State.