Please note: Beginning June 25, 2012, Mason requires a background check for all new salaried faculty and staff as a condition of hire. Employees transferring into a new position will also be subject to a background check. Senior administrators have approved the new process as part of Mason's continuing efforts to ensure good hiring practices . Policy 2221 (Criminal Background Investigations) has been updated to reflect the change.
Criminal Background Checks
Any offer of employment is contingent on the results of the criminal background check. It is preferable if a background check is completed before the new hire starts work however, work can begin provisionally awaiting the results of a check.
If departments wish to expand the coverage of their department to include wage employees, adjunct professors, or graduate assistants, the department should contact Human Resources. Background checks will be paid for from central funds.
Special rules apply to Mason employees working in the Biomedical Research Laboratory, University Police, and for those employees who are involved in Sponsored Events that include minors. Specific information related to these categories are detailed in the policy procedures.
We are using a vendor, HireRight, to conduct the criminal background checks. Once an applicant has received a contingent offer, upon notification from the hiring department, the HR office will use the electronic background check system to send the finalist an email to provide authorization for the background check and any necessary information needed to complete the check (including social security number, birthday, and counties lived in for the past seven years). HireRight has an average turn around time of 1.7 days beginning with their receipt of information. Once the check is complete, HR will review the results and apprise the hiring manager of any necessary next steps depending upon the results of the investigation. If the background check results indicate a potential problem, the hiring manager will work with the employee relations department to determine the best course of action. In general, less than 3% of background check results are cause for concern.
Current employees who are convicted of a crime, except traffic violations, have five business days to inform their supervisor or designated person. Depending on the nature of the offense, the supervisor will work with the employee relations department as needed. Criminal background checks will not be run on current employees who remain in the same position.
Additional information can be found using the links below.
Note: If a position is posted and offered through eWork, a background check request is automatically generated in the process. If a position is processed outside of eWork, please complete a Generic Disclosure.