§ 2.100.181. Fingerprints and background checks.

A.

Fingerprints of new employees and certain categories of current employees of the county shall be taken as a condition of County employment as permitted by Penal Code Sections 11105(b)(11) and 11105.3. Those persons who are required to submit to fingerprinting as a condition of employment include the following:

1.

New employees (including regular and extra help employees and interns and volunteers);

2.

Current employees (including regular and extra help employees and interns and volunteers) who serve in, transfer, demote, or who are promoted to positions which require an FBI background check and the employee has not previously submitted to an FBI background check;

3.

Current employees (including regular and extra help employees and interns and volunteers), who serve in or are transferred, demoted, or promoted into a classification, and individual independent contractors, where the employees or contractors would care for or would have supervisory or disciplinary power over minors, the elderly, the handicapped, or the mentally impaired as provided in Penal Code Section 11105.3. However, background checks on this category of individuals shall be limited to those records of convictions specified in Penal Code Section 11105.3, as that statute may be amended from time to time. Such persons shall not be allowed to work in positions where they will care for or have supervisory or disciplinary power over minors, the elderly, the handicapped, or the mentally impaired until a background check has been completed and the human resources director or his or her designee has approved the individual for the particular job after consideration of any criminal offender record information; and

4.

All personnel hired after July 1, 1975, having access to criminal offender record information, as required by the California Department of Justice and 11 California Code of Regulations Section 703(d).

B.

Fingerprints shall be taken by the sheriff's department prior to the person receiving payment for performance of duties, or as soon thereafter as practicable.

C.

Except as hereinafter provided, no person who has been convicted of any crime which renders the person unsuitable for a position in a classification shall be eligible for employment in that classification; provided, however, that the human resources director and/or the appointing authority may disregard such conviction if he or she determines that mitigating circumstances exist, such as, but not limited to, evidence of rehabilitation, the length of time that has elapsed since such conviction, the age of the person at the time of the conviction, or that the conviction is not reasonably related to qualifications, duties or functions of the classification in question.

D.

The human resources director, or his or her designee, is hereby appointed to be the records security officer, and shall, in consultation with county counsel, adopt policies and procedures for the safeguarding of criminal offender record information (also known as state summary criminal history information).

E.

The county executive officer, the human resources director, the sheriff, and the county counsel, their respective designees, and each appointing authority of the county, are hereby authorized to have access on a need-to-know basis to information from the state summary criminal history information as provided for in Sections 11105 and 11105.3 of the California Penal Code so long as they each have a fingerprint clearance record/background check completed.

F.

No one shall be shown a copy of the state summary criminal history information unless authorized by the human resources director or his or her designee. A record of said authorization shall be maintained by the human resources division.

G.

All state summary criminal history information shall be destroyed once a decision is made on whether an individual will be employed in a particular position with the county. Such destruction shall occur not later than thirty working days from the date that such decision is made, unless authorized by law or court order to be retained for a longer period of time.

(Ord. 1317 §1, 2009: Ord. 1215 § 2, 2003)