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5000 PR.01 Pre-Employment Screening Procedures
Revision Date:
March 27, 2024
Contents
2. Types of Pre-Employment Screening and Background Checks
3. Pre-Employment Screening Process
This procedure supports Policy 5000 Pre-Employment Screening. It details the expectations and implementation procedures applicable to the Pre-Employment Screening Process for Covered Individuals, as defined in Policy 5000 Pre-Employment Screening.
Yale contracts with a Third-Party Vendor that conducts Background Checks under the direction of the Pre-Employment Screening Team.
A Background Check consists of a social security number trace, state/local and federal criminal, employment, and education verification, and sex offender registry search. Depending on the requirements of the position, the Pre-Employment Screening Process could also include an Unscored Credit Check, motor vehicle record check, Department of Transportation medical check, and/or drug testing.
A motor vehicle record check is included for positions that require driving. Individuals who will be driving a commercial motor vehicle may be required to meet the annual requirements as outlined by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.
An Unscored Credit Check is included for positions involving handling of money, access to financial records, and/or access to special collections, consistent with the law and insurance requirements. See table below for an outline of positions that require additional checks based on the location of the position, access associated with the position, and required job responsibilities.
|
Work Location / Access / Required Responsibility |
Motor Vehicle Check |
Unscored Credit Check |
Medical Check |
Drug Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Museums |
X |
|||
|
Galleries |
X |
|||
|
Certain Libraries |
X |
|||
|
Special Collections (storage facility included) |
X |
|||
|
Yale College Dean’s House |
X |
|||
|
Some location(s) that stores, displays, contains, or houses special collections either owned by that location or on loan from Museums, Galleries or Libraries |
X |
|||
|
Has responsibility for financial transactions or the handling of cash valued at or in excess of $50,000 at any point in time |
X |
|||
|
Has the responsibility of driving per the job description |
X |
|||
|
Drive > 10,000 lb. OR Carrying Hazardous Material (Interstate – across state lines) |
X |
X |
||
|
Drive > 18,000 lb. (Intrastate – within CT only) |
X |
X |
||
|
Drive > 26,000 lb. OR Carrying Hazardous Material |
X |
X |
X |
A. Scope
At the time of application, to be considered, candidates must be willing to submit to any required Pre-Employment Screening Requirements, including, but not limited to, a Background Check. A former Yale employee will be required to complete the Pre-Employment Screening Process if the individual has had a break in service for more than six months. A current Yale employee will be required to complete the Pre-Employment Screening Process only if the individual moves into a position that requires an additional Unscored Credit Check or motor vehicle check.
B. Notification and Authorization of Pre-Employment Screening, including Background Check
Applicants provide authorization for the required Pre-Employment Screening Process at the time they apply for a position through STARS, the University’s talent management and recruitment gateway. During the extension of the job offer, a Talent Acquisition representative again notifies the candidate of the Pre-Employment Screening Process requirements. All candidates complete a Background Check form for Yale’s Third-Party Vendor. In addition, candidates for staff, postgraduate associate, and postdoctoral associate and fellow positions complete a Background Check Form through STARS. Depending on the requirements of their position, candidates may also complete authorization forms for a motor vehicle record check and/or an Unscored Credit Check. The Third-Party Vendor also provides candidates with the “Summary of Your Rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.”
Post-offer and, if applicable, during employment, medical checks or drug testing requirements that are required by the U.S. Department of Transportation are overseen by the Department of Employee Health at Yale Health.
C. Notification of Pre-Employment Screening Results
The Third-Party Vendor notifies Talent Acquisition of all Pre-Employment Screening Process results. A Talent Acquisition representative contacts the candidate and the hiring department via e-mail with those results. Only candidates who meet Yale’s policy will be hired or transferred into a new position. If a candidate does not meet Yale policy, the conditional offer of employment may be rescinded.
D. Pre-Employment Review Committee
If a candidate’s Pre-Employment Screening Process results require further review before final disposition, the results are referred to the Yale Pre-Employment Review Committee. The Pre-Employment Review Committee is comprised of members from the Office of General Counsel, Risk Management, Human Resources, and Yale Police Department. Upon referral, the Pre-Employment Review Committee assesses the candidate’s Pre-Employment Screening Process results in accordance with Policy 5000 Pre-Employment Screening and determines whether the candidate is eligible for employment.
E. Disputes
The Third-Party Vendor processes disputes related to inaccurate information claims and sends the candidate an Adverse Action Letter that outlines the results of the Background Check and instructions for how to dispute the findings if they are incorrect. The candidate has an opportunity to dispute the Third-Party Vendor’s findings within seven days, during which the hiring department must hold open the position (either for the seven-day dispute filing period, or until the dispute has been resolved, whichever is greater). Additional inquiries may be sent to customerservice@hireright.com or directed to the customer service line at 866-521-6995.
Questions or disputes related to a University decision based on Pre-Employment Screening Process results are processed by the Pre-Employment Screening Team.
F. Additional Information
Additional, detailed process steps can be located as follows:
- Processing a Background Check for a Postdoctoral or Postgraduate Fellow or Associate;
- Processing a Background Check for a Temporary Staff; and
- Processing a Background Check for Volunteers and Unpaid Interns.
To request completion of a Background Check, a Yale staff member completes the following forms, as relevant: