Criminal Background Checks and HireRight Updates

The DCFA Council wanted to update faculty on the ongoing situation with Criminal Background Checks as now processed through HireRight, the outside company that will perform these CBC renewals due every five years for Dallas College employees (see DC [Regulation], if you’re curious).  Some important points:

• If you have been at Dallas College a while and not had this done every five years, this is actually the historical noncompliance that HR is trying to fix.
  
  
• When looking over the disclosure form you will notice several actions above-and-beyond the standard criminal background check it is asking you to sign off on. The DCFA Council has been sounding the alarm about this for several months, trying to prevent the confusion and/or concern that many of you are experiencing now. We worked closely with HR to draft disclosure and authorization language that would fix this, only to have that language rejected by HireRight.
  
  
• The crux of the disconnect here is that HireRight is classified as a consumer reporting agency, which means that the Fair Credit Reporting Act applies to it. Thus, HireRight is required by federal law to include certain language in its disclosure and authorization forms – even if the institution using the company (in this case, Dallas College) does not plan to have HireRight acquire that information on an employee.

An understandable response to all of this is asking yourself why Dallas College would choose HireRight as a vendor if it is causing this much confusion?  The DCFA Council has wondered this as well and have asked HR many times without receiving a clear response.

Regardless, here is the most important thing: per Dallas College policy, only a criminal history check shall be performed. Unfortunately, in order for this to happen, faculty are being asked to sign documents that make it seem as though the College will have HireRight do other things, such as examine your credit history, litigation history, or “mode of living.” When you receive notification that you are due for renewal, the email will (or, should) contain a written commitment from the CHRO that only a criminal history check will be performed.

The DCFA Council cannot tell you what to do here, honestly. There is what policy states will occur here and what the forms we are being asked to sign are stating will happen.  Regardless, if you continue to have concerns about these extra disclosures and authorizations, we encourage you to voice these concerns to HR leaders.