By
Daniel Scarpinato
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Problems and questions concerning looking into employees' histories have yet to be resolved.
A new policy that would require background checks on people applying for jobs at the university is currently being considered in the department of human resources.
Jose Solorzano, president of the staff advisory council, said the issue went over well at the council's March 6 meeting, which opened up the issue for the decision among the UA community.
"The consensus was that we favor a system of background checks, but the details still need to be worked out," he said. "We would hope that any decision to implement this system would help the university."
Solorzano said there were some concerns that background checks would be conducted on potential employees' financial histories. He noted that the main reason for this new standard would be not to invade applicants' privacy, but rather to smoothen concerns over liability due to workplace theft and violence.
"This is about risk management. It's sensible - we would not just be prying into someone's personal life," he said.
Allison Vaillancourt, acting director of UA human resources, agreed that there are still some questions to be answered about how the background checks would be conducted and who would have access to the information revealed.
Vaillancourt explained that the rise in discussion over the issue was not fueled by one particular circumstance. Talks began when numerous UA departments asked about doing background checks.
"We said 'hold on, we need some standards here,'" she said.
Background checks are a growing trend among universities - Northern Arizona University and Arizona State University already use this system. While NAU checks on all applicants, ASU only checks those who handle money.
Which applicants would be subject to checks at the UA has yet to be decided.
Aside from concerns over privacy, Vaillancourt said she was concerned over the effect this policy would have on attracting future employees. Some might avoid applying due to the policy. Depending to the standards, the policy could also risk weeding out many potential employees that would otherwise be hired.
"We need to weigh the benefits of screening against the needs of the hiring process," she said.
The background checks would be conducted by an outside firm at a cost ranging anywhere from $25 to $75 each.
Vaillancourt and Solorzano both stressed that the subject of background checks has only been proposed, and any plans to implement the standard are only in the beginning stages of decision.
