Employment Information and Resources

Lane Community College is committed to protecting the safety and welfare of employees, students, and the general public, as well as preserving property and upholding the reputation and integrity of the College. Requiring a job-related< background check prior to hire is an important precaution that we can take to help ensure a safe environment.

Background checks must be completed prior to the first day of employment or engagement with the College. Any exceptions to this practice must be approved by the Talent Acquisition and Development Manager in the Human Resources Office.

All positions require a background check. Former employees, including retirees, are also subject to a background check if the break in service is twelve (12) months or more or after any break if the former employee has never had a background check completed by the College.

Employees who are hired into another position may be subject to a background check if Human Resources had not previously conducted a background check previously. A background check will be required when an employee is hired into a position that requires an additional level of background check (for example: working in public safety or the Child Care Center).

In most cases, background checks will be conducted for the finalist and at the time that references are checked. Candidates are notified when the background check is completed; they must give permission for the background check to be initiated.

A standard background check will include a Social Security Number verification, a misdemeanor and felony criminal history check, and National Sex Offender Registry check.

Additional background checks may be required for specific positions based on job-related need, including but not limited to the following:

• Degree Verification: May be required for positions where a degree was specified as a minimum requirement for hire
• Motor Vehicle Record: May be required for positions where it is anticipated that an individual will be regularly required to drive a vehicle on College business, whether College-owned or other vehicle.
• Credit History Check: Conducted only for positions with extensive authority to commit financial resources of the College or with extensive fiduciary responsibility for financial resources of the College; or as required by law, and as appropriate for positions with the following responsibilities:
  • Broad and extensive access to personally identifying information about students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, or research subjects;
  • Direct access to and handling of cash and cash equivalents (i.e., checks, credit card receipts, negotiable securities);
  • Public safety and campus security o Note that federal law prohibits discrimination as a result of personal bankruptcy.
• Employment Verifications: note that search committees are required to complete professional reference checks prior to extending a contingent offer of employment. Employment verifications may also be completed as needed by the background check vendor.

No. The existence of a criminal conviction or other finding will not result in automatic disqualification from the applicant pool. Not all criminal convictions are considered to be job-related, and decisions about criminal convictions and employment are made on a case-by-case basis. Findings will be considered by the College to the extent they relate to the applicant’s suitability for employment in the position for which the applicant has applied, and may be considered based on the following factors:

• Nature and gravity of the offense(s),
• Time since conviction, completion of sentence or any other remediation, and
• Degree of relevance to the position for which the candidate is being considered/employee is performing.

It is to be expected that there are College positions on which the public trust and reputational impact of the College rely, and evaluation of findings will of necessity include those factors.

Candidates have the right to access credit and/or criminal background check(s) information reviewed by the College and a description of the evaluation of findings; a summary of these rights is included in the background check authorization and release. For further questions, we invite candidates to contact Human Resources Recruitment at 541-463-5586.

Academic freedom and the expression of free speech are critically important to the life of the College. Findings arising from the expression of academic freedom or First Amendment rights will be reviewed according to the importance of those values within the academic community. Other convictions will be reviewed based on the factors defined for assessing all findings.

Finalists for positions must authorize the College to conduct background checks. The finalist will receive email notification of the background check requirement and will be provided with authorization and disclosure forms.

The finalist is asked to provide identifying information, including other names used, Social Security Number and birthdate, and driver license number.

Unfortunately, no. Candidates for employment who fail to participate fully or who provide inaccurate information in a background check will be eliminated from consideration for the position. Candidates may decline to authorize a background check; in such cases, no background check will be performed, but the candidate will not be considered further.

Background checks are typically completed within three (3) business days. Some jurisdictions, particularly on the East Coast, may require additional time.

Candidates who have lived internationally may require an international check, depending on the duration and purpose of their travel (e.g. students who went on study abroad for a term but who never changed their permanent address may not be required to have an international check). International checks take additional time to process.

Hiring authorities and Human Resources are notified by email when finalists have successfully completed the background check process. You can contact Human Resources for an update.

Human Resources is charged with the initial evaluation of findings in order to ensure that decisions about findings are made consistently and are based on defensible, job-related analysis, and consider the nature and context of the offense.

Candidates, and Human Resources are notified by email when finalists have successfully completed the background check process. If findings are present, the background report will be reviewed by Human Resources based on job-related analysis, considering the nature and context of the offense. On behalf of HR, the vendor will notify the finalist of a finding (pre-adverse action notification), including providing access to the complete report and advising the finalist of their rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The vendor will also ask the finalist to confirm that the report pertains to them and invite the finalist to provide any additional information for consideration.

Following this step, Human Resources will make an initial determination as to whether the finding is sufficiently job-related. If Human Resources has insufficient information about the position requirements to make this determination, they will seek additional information from the hiring unit.

• If findings are determined to not be sufficiently job-related, then HR will consider the background check process successfully completed and notify hiring authorities.
• If findings are determined to be substantially job-related, or if there is insufficient information to make such a determination, Human Resources will then make a recommendation regarding the findings to the appropriate Vice President. The recommendation will include whether disqualification from that specific job is warranted, based on application of the criteria mentioned above.

If a decision is made to withdraw the contingent offer of employment, Human Resources will notify the candidate that they are not eligible to fill the position based on the unsatisfactory results of a background check, and will provide the finalist with all required notifications pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act and/or other applicable law(s), including the right to review the report and how to contact agency(ies) that provided the background check results (adverse action notification).

Information gathered as a result of background screening is considered sensitive, and disclosure is restricted to those individuals who need the information in order to perform their job duties. Records are maintained by the College’s Human Resources department in accordance with the College’s records retention schedule.

For current employees, changes in employment initiated by the employee (e.g. application to a competitive recruitment or acceptance of a new position via direct appointment) will require a background check if the new assignment is designated as requiring a background check or required check(s) was not previously performed. Changes in employment that are initiated by the College, at the College’s discretion (e.g. change in job functions, transfer to new positions as an accommodation, participation in a layoff process, reassignment) will not typically require a background check unless the new position requires it.