North Carolina Criminal Records Check
Conducting
Criminal Record Checks in North Carolina
Criminal record checks are permitted for individual who are employed
by or who apply for employment with the following: licensed hospitals,
licensed nursing homes, licensed domiciliary care facilities, licensed
home care agencies or hospices, licensed child placement agencies,
licensed residential child care facilities, licensed area mental health,
developmental disability and substance abuse authorities, licensed child
day care facilities and registered and nonregistered child day care
homes that are regulated by the state and any other organization or
corporation, whether for profit or nonprofit, that provides direct care
or services to children, the sick, the disabled or the elderly. The
employee or applicant must consent to the record check. A fee of up to
$14 may be charged by the Department of Justice for providing a criminal
record check.
An offer of employment by a licensed North Carolina nursing home or
contract agency of a nursing home to an applicant to fill a position
that does not require the applicant to have an occupational license is
conditioned on the applicant's consent to a criminal history records
check. An offer of employment by a licensed home care agency or contract
agency of a nursing home to an applicant to fill a position that
requires entering the patient's home is conditioned on the applicant's
consent to a criminal history record check. In addition, the change in
employment status of a current employee of a licensed home care agency
or contract agency of a nursing home from a position that does not
require entering the patient's home to a position that requires entering
the patient's home must be conditioned on the current employee's consent
to a criminal history record check.
An applicant who refuses to consent to a criminal history record
check may not be employed. In addition, a home care agency or contract
agency of a nursing home may not change a current employee's employment
status from a position that does not require entering the patient's home
to a position that requires entering the patient's home if the employee
refuses to consent to a criminal history record check.
The request for a criminal record check must be submitted to the
Department of Justice within five business days of making a conditional
offer of employment. All criminal history information received by the
home or agency is confidential and may not be disclosed, except to the
applicant as provided below.
If an applicant's criminal history record check reveals one or more
convictions of a relevant crime, the nursing home or contract agency of
the nursing home must consider all of the following factors in
determining whether to hire the applicant: (1) the level and seriousness
of the crime; (2) the date of the crime; (3) the age of the person at
the time of the conviction; (4) the circumstances surrounding the
commission of the crime, if known; (5) the connection between the
criminal conduct of the person and the job duties of the position to be
filled; (6) the prison, jail, probation, parole, rehabilitation and
employment records of the person since the date the crime was committed;
ad (7) the subsequent commission by the person of a relevant offense.
The fact that the applicant was convicted of a relevant offense alone
may not be a bar to employment; however, the listed factors must be
considered. If after considering the relevant factors, the decision is
to not hire the applicant, then the nursing home or the contract agency
may disclose information contained in the criminal history record check
that is relevant to the disqualification to the applicant, but may not
provide him or her a copy of the criminal history record.
Similar requirements apply to applicants for employment by a licensed
adult care home or by a licensed contract agency of an adult care home.
Criminal record checks are required of applicants and employees of
North Carolina's Department of Human Resources who provide direct care
for a client, patient, student, resident or ward of the Department.
National criminal record checks, using fingerprints, are required of all
persons who have not resided in North Carolina during the past five
years.
All applicants for licensing as registered nurses or licensed
practical nurses must consent to a criminal history record check.
Prospective employees of private protection services must undergo
criminal records checks.
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