Hiring Procedure/Background Investigation Procedure

Hiring Procedure

Purpose: The purpose of this procedure is to outline the necessary steps in the hiring process to ensure all documentation is completed and offices are appropriately notified of new hires which they will assist.

Before the commencement of any full time employment search, the Vice President of the hiring division must complete the Request to Hire Form to receive approval from the President in order to fill a position.

Hiring for Full-Time Staff Member

Upon approval to hire a new employee or fill a recently vacated position, the following guidelines will be adhered to:

1. The Director or Department Chair will complete the Affirmative Action Vacancy Posting (Form 1) and return to the Human Resources (HR) Office. This will initiate the posting of the vacancy to the employment board in Curtis and the Limestone University website. Additional advertising locations will be set-up by the Director or Department Chair.
2. All applicants will complete the on-line application which will be sent to the Director or Department Chair, additional committee members, and the HR Office.
3. The Director or Department Chair will complete a minimum of 2 references, using the Reference Checking Form, for the candidates who are selected to be interviewed on campus. The references must be checked and found to be satisfactory before an invitation to campus is offered.
4. During the interview process, candidates will complete the Authorization and Release form.
5. Once the interview process is complete, the Director or Department Chair will give HR the signed Authorization and Release form of the final candidate.
6. The Director of HR will initiate the Background Investigation process.
7. The Director or Department Chair may extend a conditional offer of employment to the selected candidate. If the offer is declined, steps c-f will be completed again.
8. Once the Director of HR has confirmed a satisfactory background investigation, the Director or Department Chair will be notified and a start date will be communicated to the new employee.
9. If the offer is declined, steps c-f will be completed again
10. The Director of HR will remove the position posting from the employment board and website and communicate position filled notifications to candidates not selected. HR will need a list of all interviewed candidates to complete the candidate notifications. As a courtesy, candidates who formally visited the campus but were not selected will receive a phone call from the Department Chair or Director regarding the decision.
11. The Director or Department Chair will complete the additional forms as listed below and return them to the designated person.
    1. Request for Offer Letter Form– Reggie Browning
    2. New Employee Service Request Form – Joyce Phillips
    3. Faculty/Staff Data Sheet – Joyce Phillips
    4. Affirmative Action Filled Vacancy Summary (Form 2) - HR
12. The Human Resources will send an employment letter to the new employee for their signature and formal acceptance of the offer. A final signed copy of the offer letter will be forwarded to HR.
13. The Director or Department Chair will schedule an appointment with the new employee and the HR office within three days of the hire date to complete required paperwork and review benefits.

Hiring for Full Time Faculty Members

Upon approval to hire a new faculty member or fill a recently vacated position, the following guidelines will be adhered to:

1. The Director or Department Chair will complete the Affirmative Action Vacancy Posting (Form 1) and return to the Human Resources (HR) Office. This will initiate the posting of the vacancy to the employment board in Curtis and the Limestone University website. Additional advertising locations will be set-up by the Director or Department Chair.
2. All applicants will complete the on-line application which will be sent to the Director or Department Chair, additional committee members, and the HR Office.
3. The Director or Department Chair will complete a minimum of 2 references, using the Reference Checking Form, for the candidates who are selected to be interviewed on campus. The references must be checked and found to be satisfactory before an invitation to campus is offered.
4. During the interview process, candidates will complete the Authorization and Release form.
5. Once the interview process is complete, the Director or Department Chair will give HR the signed Authorization and Release form of the final candidate.
6. The Director of HR will initiate the Background Investigation process.
7. The Director or Department Chair may extend a conditional offer of employment to the selected candidate. If the offer is declined, steps c-f will be completed again.
8. Once the Director of HR has confirmed a satisfactory background investigation, the Director or Department Chair will be notified and a start date will be communicated to the new employee.
9. The Director of HR will remove the position posting from the employment board and website and communicate position filled notifications to candidates not selected. HR will need a list of all interviewed candidates to complete the candidate notifications. As a courtesy, candidates who formally visited the campus but were not selected will receive a phone call from the Department Chair or Director regarding the decision.
10. The Director or Department Chair will complete the additional forms as listed below and return them to the designated person.
    1. Request for Offer Letter Form– Provost Office
    2. New Employee Service Request Form – Joyce Phillips
    3. Faculty/Staff Data Sheet – Joyce Phillips
    4. Affirmative Action Filled Vacancy Summary (Form 2) - HR
11. The President’s office will send an employment letter to the new employee for their signature and formal acceptance of the offer. A final signed copy of the offer letter will be forwarded to HR.
12. The Director or Department Chair will schedule an appointment with the new employee and the HR office within three days of the hire date to complete required paperwork and review benefits. For the fall semester, new faculty members will attend the New Hire orientation in lieu of a one on one meeting with HR.

Additional Required Items

1. New employees must obtain parking decal from the Campus Safety office, after going to www.permitsales.net/limestoneuniversity and registering his/her vehicle.
2. New employees must obtain an “L” Card from the Student Services Office

Hiring for Part Time Staff Members (Temporary, Student Workers, Interns)

1. Once the new hire is selected and a conditional offer of employment extended, the Director or Department Chair will complete the Departmental Hiring Form and forward to HR. The administrator will then schedule an appointment for the new hire to meet with HR within three days of the start date to complete the required paperwork.
2. All newly hired part time employees, except student workers, will complete the Authorization and Release form.
3. The background check will be initiated by HR and the Director or Department Chair will be notified if the background check results are not satisfactory.
4. An offer letter will be sent from the President’s office to the new part time employee, excluding student workers

Hiring for Adjunct Faculty Members - Day

1. Once the new hire is selected, the Director or Department Chair will complete the Departmental Hiring Form and forward to HR. The administrator will then schedule an appointment for the new hire to meet with HR within three days of the start date to complete the required paperwork.
2. If the adjunct faculty member is new to the university they will need to complete the Authorization and Release form. All other members will be grandfathered in and will not have to complete the background check process, unless there is reasonable cause. A conditional offer of employment should be offered to new individuals.
3. The background check will be initiated by HR and the Director or Department Chair will be notified if the background check results are not satisfactory.
4. An employment contract will be issued by the Office of Academic Affairs

Hiring for Adjunct Faculty Members - Extended Campus Classroom (ECC) and Extended Campus Internet (ECI)

1. Once the new hire is selected, the Director or Department Chair will coordinate with the Instruction Support Coordinators of either the ECC or ECI for the completion of all necessary new hire paperwork. These items must be completed within three days of the start date.
2. If the adjunct faculty member is new to the university, they will need to complete the Authorization and Release form. All other members will be grandfathered in and will not have to complete the background check process, unless there is reasonable cause. A conditional offer of employment should be offered to new individuals.
3. The background check will be initiated by HR and the Director or Department Chair will be notified if the background check results are not satisfactory.
4. An employment contract will be prepared by the ECC or ECI offices respectively and approved by the Office of Academic Affairs.

Hiring for Work Study Students

1. Once a student is approved for financial aid through Financial Aid office, he or she will meet with the assigned Financial Aid counselor to complete the required paperwork and view the job listings notebook for a position.
2. Once the student is approved for a work study position with a department, the Director or Department Chair must complete the Work Study Contract. Both the student and the Director or Department Chair must complete the contract.
3. The student must also sign a Confidentiality Agreement and both documents must be returned to the Financial Aid counselor.

Position Changes

1. All position or salary changes for current employees will be initiated using the Position or Salary Adjustment form. Once the form is completed and approved, it should be returned to the HR office with a copy to the President’s office.
2. An updated employment letter with the changes will be sent the employee and HR.

All forms referred to in this policy are located on the “T” drive (Docs/HR)

Criminal Investigation Procedures

A. Criminal Investigation and Records – All Positions

Limestone University requires Criminal Background Investigations (CBI) to be performed on all newly hired full-time employees. Individuals who have been absent from the University for a period of 12 months may be subject to an additional CBI. Employees hired prior to the implementation of the Criminal Background Investigation procedure will be subject to a CBI if there is reasonable cause. Adjunct faculty who have not been previously employed by the University will also undergo a background investigation.

Upon determining that a position will be filled, Human Resources will determine which type of criminal background check to perform. The CBI may include a county and/or state criminal search, social security number trace and address verification, sex offender registry, and credit history check based on the job relevancy. The credit history check will be based on the job description which pre-determines whether money handling is relevant. During the advertisement of positions as well as during the interview process, all applicants will be informed of the Criminal Background Investigation procedure.

Once the selection process begins, the final candidate(s) will be asked to sign a Release and Authorization Form (Form 1- attached). Candidates who refuse to sign the form will be considered withdrawing from the pre-employment process and no longer viewed as a candidate for the job opening. Failure to disclose a conviction(s) or misrepresentations will be viewed as falsification of employment information and may result in disqualification for or a rescission of a job offer. Giving false or incomplete information is also sufficient cause to disqualify an applicant for employment.

A job offer will be extended to the selected candidate, contingent upon the results of the background investigation. There is the option to not extend the offer until the results of the background investigation have been received. This decision will be made based upon business necessity. If the results are satisfactory, the job offer will stand. If the results reflect issues of concern, the job offer may be rescinded.

In the event that the results of the CBI adversely impact the applicant for employment, the applicant will be given the opportunity to refute the results.

Convictions revealed in the employment process and any additional convictions which may exist on the criminal record, will be reviewed by the Vice President of the hiring division and the Director of Human Resources. Upon reviewing this information, there may be cause for disqualification or the rescinding of a job offer based upon the following:

• Length of time since the conviction(s)
• Types of circumstances of the offense(s)
• Applicants employment record or subsequent behavior since the offense(s)
• Number of convictions
• Rehabilitation
• Nature of the job and job relatedness of conviction(s)
• Location of job assignment

As necessary, legal counsel and the University President may be contacted for additional guidance. The Vice President of the hiring department will only be consulted by Human Resources when the results of a candidate’s CBI are questionable or include information that could adversely affect future or current employment.

An outside agency licensed to perform Criminal Background Investigations will conduct all investigations. All employee investigations will be initiated through the Human Resources Office. All results of the investigations will be kept confidential except when it is necessary for consultation regarding questionable results. Human Resources will retain a copy of the CBI results and Authorization and Release Form in a secured location. After the designated retention period has expired, the company will take reasonable measures to dispose of the consumer reports to ensure they cannot be read or reconstructed, as required for compliance with the Federal Trade Commission.

Limestone University reserves the right to conduct criminal record searches when an employee is charged with any crime that reflects on his or her suitability for continued employment. Criminal record searches can also be initiated as a result of an internal administrative investigation.

B.  Other Investigation and Records – Selected Positions

At times, depending on the level, location, or type of position, the University may also investigate any or all of the following areas:

Sex offender registry, social security number/name, educational verification, employment verification, credit history, driving/motor vehicle records, licenses/credentials, address history, or any other area pertinent to an applicant's background and job requirements.