Required Background checks for KY employment applications
ashley_hc03
2 Posts
Can someone please tell me all of the required background checks for a Kentucky (not a Government Job or State Job) employment application?
Comments
The specific background checks we are required by regulation to pull—the names (i.e. child abuse registry) in Kentucky
Required Background Checks in Kentucky
Kentucky law requires that certain employers perform background checks prior to hiring for specific positions. For example, an applicant for certification as a police officer must be fingerprinted for a criminal background check. Likewise, public school teachers, student teachers, and nonteaching athletic coaches must submit to criminal background checks. This includes public post-secondary schools. Private schools that have been voluntarily certified by the Kentucky Board of Education may require criminal background checks on certified hires and student teachers. Background checks are also required for directors and employees of child care facilities or any other position that requires supervisory or disciplinary power over a minor or direct contact with a minor. Applicants for “Personal Services Agencies,” including those agencies that assist with daily living or provide in-home companionship and respite care, must also submit to a criminal background check. Similarly, background checks are required for employees of long-term care facilities owned, managed, or operated by the state. Out-of-state background checks must also be obtained for any applicant recommended for these employees. Board certified physicians, surgeons, and dentists, and any individual who independently contracts with the long-term care facility who is not directly related to the provision of services to a resident, patient, or client, are exempt from the background check requirement.
Additionally, anyone who applies to be a commercial motor vehicle driver must provide an employer, at the time of application, with the names and addresses of all employers for the 10 preceding years for which the applicant was a driver of a commercial motor vehicle, the dates that the applicant drove for that employer, the reason for leaving, and a certification that all information provided is true and complete. Mortgage loan brokers may also be required to submit to a background check to obtain or renew a license. Other professions requiring a background check to obtain a license include professional solicitors and fundraising consultants, private investigators, home inspectors, deception detection examiners, commercial driver’s license training instructors, elevator contractors, participants in live racing with pari-mutuel wagering, mine inspectors, secondary metals recyclers, and nurses or dialysis technicians.
Though not required to do so, Kentucky employers in other industries may choose to conduct background checks prior to hiring. In addition to criminal background checks, employers may seek information about an applicant’s work history, education, financial history, and social media use. Often, employers will utilize a third-party company to obtain reports, including, for example, driving records and/or credit history. If an employer acquires information from one of these companies, it must obtain an applicant’s written permission first, and the applicant must be informed in writing that the information is being acquired and might be used in the decision to hire. Ultimately, if an employer decides not to hire an applicant (or takes any other adverse employment action) because of information learned from a background report, applicants and employees must be informed that they were rejected because of information in the report, that the company selling the report did not make the final decision, and that the applicant/employee has a right to dispute the accuracy of the report. Applicants/employees must also be given the name of the company providing the report. Additionally, if the decision is made based on a credit report, the applicant must receive a copy of the consumer report and a copy of their rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Jennifer L. Bame, jbame@fbtlaw.com, 502-779-8131