A&R met with OLR and DRS on Friday 9/8/17 to discuss the impact of the recently released fingerprinting/background check policy. There will be a follow-up meeting, but this is where we are as of now:
Current employees who refuses to grant authorization and have FTI involvement will first either be transferred to non-FTI units/assignments within DRS if possible, secondary to that, would be treated as a "lack of work layoff" under the Job Security Provisions which can be found on pages 8-11 of the 2017 SEBAC agreement (read relevant Job Security Provisions here). This would mean that the State would look for qualified employment elsewhere within State employment.
The agency will review coverage to determine if non-FTI assignments exist within the agency and make a determination as to whether some current employees would not require a background check (currently, all employees are being considered as requiring FTI, there is no promise from the agency that this will change, only that they will review to see if this assessment is accurate).
The background investigation is limited to the FBI databases and will not involve poking around local police departments for nuisance complaints.
The determination that an employee is not qualified for Teir 2 clearance will be based on the agency's judgment of the nature of the crime, number of convictions, when they occurred along with other factors of the facts and circumstances as they relate to the employees duties.
Current employees failing to pass Teir 2 security will result in either re-assignment to non-FTI duties within DRS (if they exist) or the employee will be treated as a "lack of work layoff" under the job security provision of the 2017 SEBAC agreement and a comparable position with State employment will be sought.
It is quite possible that criminal records that should have been expunged have not been properly expunged from the record. If this occurs, the employee will be given the opportunity to verify for the agency that the record is erroneous (correcting the record through the criminal justice system computer networks won't be required but still would be recommended to prevent future complications).
We are still seeking agreement on the "report every arrest" piece of the policy (and our grievance still stands on this issue). A&R has made our points on this issue and we will be waiting for a response/re-assessment on this issue.
Records will be processed within the agency's CID "police unit". Any "hits" from the background check will be sent to HR for review and Teir 2 determination. Only HR will make this determination. The records will NOT become part of the personnel file, however, all employees will have the ability to inspect their report (good or bad).