Michigan Law on Background Checks
Background checks, also known as criminal history background information checks, are governed by state and federal laws, and may be required by statute for certain positions of public employment. These checks are used in connection with many different Michigan laws, especially those concerning people in occupations that work with children, elderly citizens, disabled persons and other vulnerable classes of people.
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Definition
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A background check is the review of records containing any criminal record information collected and stored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other federal, state, county and local law enforcement agencies. In Michigan, for example, it would include the Michigan State Police (MSP). The records may include arrest and conviction information, fingerprint cards and correctional institution orientation and release information. A background check generally does not include investigative or intelligence reports.
School Bus Drivers
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School bus drivers are required to undergo background checks. The Pupil Transportation Act requires a school to request a background check from the MSP when it accepts an application for the position of school bus driver. This is to determine whether the applicant was convicted of criminal sexual conduct; assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct; attempt to commit criminal sexual conduct; or a felonious assault on a child, child abuse, or cruelty, torture or indecent exposure involving a child.
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Adult Foster Care Workers
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The Adult Foster Care Facility Licensing Act requires an applicant who has received an offer of employment to give written consent for the MSP to conduct a background check. It further requires the facility to submit a request to the MSP to conduct a background check on the applicant and input the applicant's fingerprints into the appropriate database. It must also include a request to check for substantiated findings of abuse, neglect or misappropriation. The act requires the same of independent contractors.
Nursing Home Workers
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Nursing home workers are required to undergo background checks. The Public Health Code requires that nursing homes and similar facilities make employees and independent contractors having direct access to or giving direct care to patients or residents give written consent for background checks. Similar facilities include county medical care facilities, hospices, hospitals that provide swing bed services, homes for the aged and home health agencies. The facility must submit a request to the MSP to conduct a background check on the applicant, input the applicant's fingerprints into the appropriate database and submit the applicant's fingerprints to the FBI for a national criminal history check.
Casino Workers
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Casino workers are required to undergo background checks. Michigan Gaming Control and Revenue Act also requires a background check on prospective employees. Prior to hiring an applicant, the "holder of a casino license shall conduct a background check of the prospective employee to determine whether the prospective employee has had any criminal convictions or has any pending criminal charges at the time he or she submits an application for employment."
Private Security Workers
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A business licensed under the Private Security Business and Security Alarm Act must secure fingerprints of prospective employees, and must submit the fingerprints to the MSP and the FBI for a state and national criminal history background check. The FBI must forward the results of the national background check to the MSP. The MSP then makes a fitness determination of the applicant. A licensee may not employ a person who is a direct provider of the security business before submitting fingerprints to the MSP.
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References
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