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Home My WebLink AboutItem 09 An Ordinance Establishing Criminal History Record Check Policies AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date: 7/16/2012 Meeting Type: Regular Meeting Staff Contact/Dept.:Greta Utecht/HR Staff Phone No: 541-726-3787 Estimated Time: Consent Calendar S P R I N G F I E L D C I T Y C O U N C I L Council Goals: Provide Financially Responsible and Innovative Government Services ITEM TITLE: AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD CHECK POLICIES ACTION REQUESTED: Adopt/Not Adopt the following ordinance: AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD CHECK POLICIES CONCERNING EMPLOYEES AND APPLICANTS FOR EMPLOYMENT, APPOINTED VOLUNTEERS, CONTRACTORS AND THOSE EMPLOYED BY CONTRACTORS WITH THE CITY. ISSUE STATEMENT: Currently the Springfield Police Department can only perform criminal background checks on employees or applicants for employment who have direct access to law enforcement data bases and systems. It is in the City’s best interest both financially and for efficiency of time to have the City Police Department complete criminal and driving history record checks for finalists for positions in all departments at the City, volunteers, and contractors and employees of contractors with the City. In order to accomplish this, the Council must adopt an Ordinance directing the Police Department to do this in accordance with Oregon State statutes and administrative rules. ATTACHMENTS: 1: Proposed Ordinance DISCUSSION/ FINANCIAL IMPACT: Without an Ordinance in place that allows the City’s Police Department to perform criminal background checks for all current and prospective employees, volunteers and contractors, Human Resources staff must request the information from the Oregon State Police, and wait up to two weeks for response. In addition, information from such a request may not provide sufficient detail to determine if the applicant is appropriate to hire. For example, the Oregon State Police will not provide information regarding the arrest record of an individual, instead they will only indicate if he or she was convicted of a misdemeanor or felony. Due to the delay and the lack of specific information, the City may not be hiring the best candidate from each pool. The delay extends our selection process timeline and may force top candidates to take other positions, and lack of information may mean that a candidate has a pattern of behavior that is not appropriate for a public employee position. Changes to this proposed ordinance requested by the Council following the first reading have been incorporated into this revision. ORDINANCE NO. _______ SPECIAL AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD CHECK POLICIES CONCERNING EMPLOYEES AND APPLICANTS FOR EMPLOYMENT, APPOINTED VOLUNTEERS, CONTRACTORS AND THOSE EMPLOYED BY CONTRACTORS WITH THE CITY. RECITALS: A. The Council finds it in the City’s best interest both financially and for efficiency of time to have the City Police Department complete criminal and driving history record checks for finalists for positions in all departments at the City, employees currently working for the City applying for positions different from the one for which they were originally hired, volunteers, contractors and employees of contractors with the City operating within the City; and B. The Council finds that in order to accomplish Recital A the Council must adopt an Ordinance directing the Police Department to do this in accordance with the State Law Enforcement Data System (LEDS) regulations; now, therefore; NOW, THEREFORE, BASED ON THE FOREGOING RECITALS, THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD ORDAINS AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. PURPOSE The purpose of this Ordinance is to authorize the City of Springfield Police Department to access Oregon State Police (OSP) criminal offender information through the Law Enforcement Data System (LEDS) for applicants seeking employment and/or volunteer work with the City, employees currently working for the City applying for positions different from the one for which they were originally hired, and contractors and employees of contractors with the City or, operating with the City of Springfield, in accordance with OAR 257-10-025(1)(a). Section 2. PROCEDURE All proceedings pursuant to the Ordinance shall be conducted in accordance with ORS 181.555 and OAR 257-10-025, which establishes procedures for access to criminal record information possessed by the Oregon State Police (OSP) through the Law Enforcement Data System (LEDS), and as supplemented below. A. Parties subject to a background check under the provisions of this Ordinance will be required to authorize the City of Springfield to conduct a criminal offender information check through the OSP LEDS system. B. The Human Resources Department will maintain the criminal history authorization forms for those doing work on behalf of the City and request that a criminal history check be made if it is determined that this will be in the best interest of the City in filling the position. Those filing out the forms will be informed that their criminal offender information (if any) may be sought, and they have the right to inspect and challenge the information pursuant to ORS 181.548, 181.560 and OAR 257-010-0035. C. The Human Resources Department will provide the Police Department with the specific standards required for the position for which a criminal history is requested. ORDINANCE No. ______ Page 1 of 3 ORDINANCE No. ______ Page 2 of 3 D. The City of Springfield Police Department will conduct the check on the prospective employee, employee, volunteer, contractor or employee of contractor doing business with the City, and report to the Human Resources Department that the Person’s record indicates “no criminal and/or traffic infraction record” or “criminal and/or traffic record does not meet the standards set for that position”, as provided by the Human Resources Department. E. If the person’s record is reported as “criminal record and/or traffic record does not meet the standards set for that position,” the Human Resources Department may in accordance with OAR 257-10-025(1)C, request a written criminal history report from the OSP Identification Services Section and pay the applicable fee for this service. The Human Resources Department may make a written criminal and/or driving history record available to the selecting official for his/her consideration in making the hiring decision. F. The written criminal history record on persons that are not hired or appointed as a volunteer will be retained in accordance with the requirements of OAR 166-200-0090(5). G. The criminal history record of applicants and volunteers with a criminal history that are hired or appointed will become a part of the confidential personnel file of that employee or volunteer. Access to confidential personnel files is limited to authorized persons who have an official need to access such files as sanctioned by law or regulations. H. Applicants for employment, reassignment, or appointment as a volunteer or contractor that have a felony criminal history or a history of conviction of a misdemeanor will be closely examined to determine if the person possesses the required degree of public trust and confidence. Each selection will, however, be made on an individual, case by case basis, taking into account the person’s qualifications, the requirements of the particular job or volunteer post applied for, and the results of the criminal history check. Factors such as the age of the offender at the time of the offense, the type of offense and subsequent rehabilitation, and the public sensitivity of the position under consideration shall be taken into account in evaluating a criminal history report. I. Hiring an applicant, reassigning a current employee or appointing a volunteer or contractor with a criminal history record, will require the approval of the Human Resources Director, after full disclosure and consideration of the criminal history of the applicant. Section 3. SEVERABILITY If any section, subsection, provision, clause or paragraph of this Ordinance shall be adjudged or declared by any court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or invalid, such judgment shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance; and, it is hereby expressly declared that every section, subsection, provision, clause or paragraph of this Ordinance enacted, irrespective of the enactment or validity of the portion hereof declared to be unconstitutional or invalid is valid. Invalidity of a section or part of a section of this Ordinance shall not affect the validity of the remaining section or parts of sections. ORDINANCE No. ______ Page 3 of 3 Adopted BY THE Common Council of the City of Springfield this _____day of ______________, 2012 by vote of ____ for and ____against. APPROVED by the Mayor of the City of Springfield this ____ day of ____________, 2012. _________________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: __________________________________________ City Recorder N:\City\Police\GENERAL\Ordinance Re Criminal Records Check-2012.Doc