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Policy Statement

Boston University has a policy and program of background checks to assure a safe, secure, and productive work environment for all students, faculty, staff, volunteers, and visitors working in, or utilizing, the facilities of Boston University and to screen students for clinical placements.

This Background Check Policy is applicable to the verification of prior work history, verification of education and other credentials and, where applicable, criminal history screening of prospective and current employees, subcontractors, volunteers, and students placed in clinical settings.

I. Types of Background Checks

a. Employment References and Degree Verifications

Boston University currently conducts employment reference and degree verifications for full-time and part-time staff positions. Hiring managers for such positions may contact Human Resources to request assistance with this process. Human Resources will conduct past employment verification and academic credential verification for each final candidate.

b. Criminal Offender Record Information/Sex Offender Registry Information (CORI/SORI) Check

Criminal Offender Record Information/Sex Offender Registry Information (CORI/SORI) checks, completed through the Massachusetts Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS), shall be conducted for the sole purpose of making suitability determinations and only by persons authorized to do so under Boston University’s CORI/SORI Policy and applicable law.

A CORI/SORI check is required for all positions with Facilities Management and Operations, Safety, Security, and Preparedness, and other designated positions that require additional verification. During the interview process, candidates will be informed if the position requires a CORI/SORI check and asked to consent  to a CORI/SORI authorization.

A CORI/SORI check is also required for any member of the Boston University community who will have direct contact with minors as part of participation in a University service, program, or activity involving minors on a periodic basis. For the purposes of Boston University’s Protection of Minors Program, a “minor” is defined as any person under the age of 18 who is not a matriculated Boston University student and is not accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

II. Access to Background Check Information

All information obtained through the background check process, including criminal history, is highly confidential and access to such information is limited to those individuals who have a direct “need to know.” This may include but is not limited to hiring personnel, those processing employment applications, and those submitting requests to CSI.

III. Adverse Decisions Based on Background Checks

In the event that Boston University is considering an adverse decision on the applicant’s employment based on background check information, the applicant must:

• Be notified as early as possible of the potential for an adverse decision based on information obtained as a result of their CORI/SORI check (if applicable);
• Be informed of the source of the background check report; and
• Be provided a copy of the background check report, including CORI/SORI information as well as a summary of rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, as required by Massachusetts law.

If the source of the information is the criminal report received from DCJIS through a third-part vendor (such as Creative Services, Inc. (“CSI”)), the applicant must also be promptly informed of the specific item from the report that could result in adverse action and be provided with copies of the University’s CORI/SORI Policy and DCJIS’s Information Concerning the Process for Correcting a Criminal Record.

The applicant will be provided the opportunity to dispute the accuracy of the background check information and will be notified of the final decision and the basis for it in a timely manner.

IV. Confidentiality

Boston University will not divulge information obtained through background checks to outside organizations except where required to do so by clinical placement agencies and permitted by law. Any such requests from a clinical placement agency must be made in writing directly to Boston University’s Office of Human Resources (BUHR).

IV. Storage and Destruction of Criminal History Information

Boston University will ensure that hard copies are stored in a separate and secure location with limited access. Electronically-stored CORI/SORI information will be password protected and encrypted with limited password access with no public cloud storage.

CORI/SORI records will be destroyed seven (7) years after the earlier of: (1) a former employee’s last date of employment; or 2) a final decision with respect to an applicant or employee.

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