Overview

All offers of employment made on or after January 1, 2023, for positions that are designated as having critical or security-sensitive access (duty examples), must be made contingent upon a satisfactory background check. If the position requires driving as part of the regular responsibilities, the offer must also be made contingent upon satisfactory motor vehicle history check results.

VOLUNTEERS: Please visit the Volunteers page and the Volunteers section of the frequently asked questions (FAQs) page for information about processes and requirements.

What to Expect

  1. Complete the recruitment, evaluate candidates, and select your final candidate.

  2. Consult with the appropriate HR team(s) prior to extending an offer.

  3. Make an offer of employment to your candidate.

    • If the position has critical or security-sensitive access, make the offer contingent on a satisfactory background check.

    • If the position requires driving as part of the regular responsibilities, make the offer contingent on a satisfactory motor vehicle history check.

    • If the position is for a high-level administrator, make the offer contingent upon a satisfactory sexual misconduct reference check.

    • If the position requires any additional background checks, make the offer contingent upon the satisfactory completion of them.

  4. If your candidate accepts your contingent offer of employment, reach out to the HR team(s) you contacted in step 2 to initiate the next steps (which include the background check process).

  5. If the candidate:

    • Is eligible for employment, Human Resources will notify you via email that the background check process is complete. The hiring process can move forward once you have received this notification.

    • Is not eligible for employment, Human Resources will notify you via email that the candidate is ineligible to be hired for the position. The email will not include details about the ineligibility. Human Resources will also notify the candidate of their ineligibility for the position.

A previous conviction does not automatically prevent an individual from being employed by OSU. "Satisfactory results" may include a history of conviction(s), which went through the Hiring and Service Risk Assessment Committee's individualized assessment review process and resulted in a determination that the conviction(s) did not disqualify an individual for the specific position.

After your candidate completes the vendor's steps, the background check process typically takes:

  • Three to five (3-5) business days if your candidate has consistently resided and worked in Oregon for seven or more years, and

  • Five to ten (5-10) business days if your candidate has resided and worked in Oregon for less than seven years.

The time periods provided above are estimations. There are various factors that may impact the length of time that a background check takes to be processed, including if a candidate's background check has additional requirements and if there are factors outside of our vendor's control. See the General section on the FAQs page for additional information.

Once the background check process is complete, Human Resources will send additional information and documents to your candidate via email. The information and documents are typically sent within one to two (1-2) weeks of an individual's start date, given that their background check process is complete. These will be sent to the candidate via email through DocuSign. Delays in a candidate's background check may impact their start date and the timing of the candidate's receipt of the new hire information and documents.

How to Support Timely Completion

  • If the position includes additional background check components (see Other Background Checks on the Background Checks home page for more information), let the candidate know that the contingent offer of employment requires satisfactory results from those as well.

  • Tell your candidate to look for an email message from dse_na2@docusign.net. The subject line will be Criminal History Check Authorization for [Candidate’s Name]. 

  • Tell your candidate to look for an email message from CastleBranch after they complete the form in the email referenced above.

  • Ask the candidate to let you know if they don't receive one or both of these emails. If this occurs, let the applicable Human Resources team know as soon as possible.

  • Encourage your candidate to act on the emails as quickly as they can, since a delay in doing so may impact when they can begin their new position.

Costs & Billing

Costs

Hiring units are responsible for the cost of background checks. Human Resources can answer questions about the process and fees and can be contacted at CHCEmployment@oregonstate.edu.

  • Consistently resided and worked in Oregon for 7+ years
    • $25.80
  • Consistently resided and worked in Oregon for less than 7 years
    • $26.60

These prices may increase depending on the number of states and counties that need to be contacted as part of the background check process.

Information for the motor vehicle history checks is obtained at the cost of the subject individual, and costs may vary state-to-state.

Billing Information for Units

A unit index is obtained as part of the Criminal History Check Authorization form process. This index will be charged for the cost of the background check.

Self-Report Requirement

Employees convicted of a crime and/or motor vehicle offense after their hire date is required to notify Employee and Labor Relations in University Human Resources. Units that are made aware of post-employment convictions/motor vehicle offenses must also notify Employee and Labor Relations for further investigation.

For more information, please visit the Self-Report Requirement section of the frequently asked questions (FAQs) page.

FAQs

Please visit the General and Units sections of the frequently asked questions (FAQs) page.

Policies and Additional Resources