Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
(a)
Requirement
Every public safety dispatcher candidate shall be the subject of a
thorough background investigation in order to verify the absence of past behavior
indicative of unsuitability to perform public safety dispatcher duties.
(1) Effective July 1, 2023, every background
investigator shall satisfactorily complete POST-certified background investigation
training prior to conducting investigations.
(b) Background Investigation Evaluation Criteria
The POST Background Investigation Manual: Guidelines for
the Investigator (2018) provides assistance in conducting background
investigations. The use of the manual is discretionary; except for the POST
Background Investigation Dimensions described in the manual which are herein
incorporated by reference -- Integrity, Impulse Control/Attention to Safety,
Substance Abuse and Other Risk-Taking Behavior, Stress Tolerance, Confronting and
Overcoming Problems, Obstacles, and Adversity, Conscientiousness, Interpersonal
Skills, Decision-Making and Judgment, Learning Ability, and Communication Skills --
shall be considered in the conduct of every public safety dispatcher background
investigation.
(c) Personal
History Statements
Every public safety dispatcher candidate shall complete, sign, and
date a personal history statement at the onset of the background investigation. A
personal history statement can be either the POST Personal History Statement
-- Public Safety Dispatcher, POST 2-255 (01/2024) or an alternative
personal history statement. An alternative personal history statement shall include
inquiries related to the following areas of investigation: personal identifying
information, relatives and references contact information, education history,
residence history, experience and employment history, military history, financial
history, legal history, driving history, and other topics related to moral
character.
(d) Collection of
Background Information: Pre and Post Conditional Offer of Employment.
(1) Pre-Offer
Prior to the extension of a conditional offer of employment
("pre-offer"), no part of the background investigation shall be conducted that is
deemed medical or otherwise subject to state or federal pre-offer inquiry
prohibitions [EEOC's ADA Enforcement Guidance: Preemployment
Disability-Related Questions and Medical Examinations, (1995)]. Non-medical
inquiries and other parts of the background investigation that are not subject to
these prohibitions shall be conducted pre-offer, except as noted in subsection
1959(d)(2).
(2) Post-Offer
Background information that cannot be legally or practicably
obtained prior to a conditional offer of employment may be acquired and evaluated
after the offer has been extended ("post-offer"). At the post-offer stage,
background investigators, examining physicians, and others involved in the hiring
decision shall work cooperatively to ensure that each has the information necessary
to conduct their respective investigations and/or assessments of the
candidate.
(e) Areas
of Investigation
(1) Employment Eligibility
(A) Every public safety dispatcher candidate shall
be legally eligible for employment in the United States.
(B) Proof of employment eligibility shall consist
of an official government-issued U.S. birth certificate, naturalization
documentation, U.S. passport, current permanent resident alien card, or other
documentation deemed acceptable by POST. The document shall be an original, a
certified copy, or a copy that includes a notation by the investigator that the
original or certified copy was reviewed.
(2) Criminal Record Checks -- Local, State, and
National
Every public safety dispatcher candidate shall be the subject of a
criminal record search at local, state, and national levels.
(A) Local searches shall include inquiries with
local law enforcement agencies where the individual has lived, worked, attended
school, or frequently visited.
Proof of local searches shall be documented by a letter or other
written documentation from each agency contacted. If a contacted agency does not
provide written documentation, the request for information shall be noted.
(B) A state search shall include
forwarding the candidate's fingerprints to the California Department of Justice
(DOJ) to obtain criminal record results.
Proof of a state search shall be documentation issued by the DOJ
consisting of an official clearance return. The authorization shall be relevant to
the public safety dispatcher position and shall have been generated no more than one
year prior to the date of appointment.
(C) A national search shall include forwarding the
candidate's fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Proof of a national search shall consist of an official clearance
from the FBI. The clearance shall be relevant to the public safety dispatcher
position and shall have been generated no more than one year prior to the date of
appointment.
(3)
Driving Record Check
(A) Every public safety
dispatcher candidate's driving history, if any, shall be checked to determine the
candidate's driving record and adherence to the law.
(B) Proof of the driving history check shall
consist of a written driving record history from the Department of Motor Vehicles or
other official driving record. The record shall be dated no more than one year prior
to the date of appointment.
(4) Education Verification
(A) Every public safety dispatcher candidate's
educational history shall be investigated to verify the information provided on the
personal history statement and as a measure of conscientiousness, learning ability,
and other aspects of character.
(B)
Proof shall consist of an official transcript or other means of verifying
educational history deemed acceptable by POST. The document shall be an original, a
certified copy, or a copy that includes a notation by the investigator that the
original or certified copy was reviewed.
(5) Employment History Checks
(A) Every public safety dispatcher candidate shall
be the subject of employment history checks through contact with all past and
current employers over the period of the past ten years, as listed on the personal
history statement.
(B) Proof of the
employment history check shall be documented by a written account of the information
provided and source of that information for each place of employment contacted. All
information requests shall be documented.
(6) Relatives/Personal References Checks
(A) Every public safety dispatcher candidate shall
be the subject of reference checks through contacts and interviews with relatives,
including former spouses, and personal references listed on the candidate's personal
history statement. Additional references, provided by the initial contacts, shall
also be contacted and interviewed to determine whether the applicant has exhibited
behavior incompatible with the position sought. Agencies shall collect and review
sufficient information to determine candidate suitability.
(B) Proof of reference checks shall be documented
by written information showing that relatives and personal references identified by
the candidate were interviewed. Documentation shall include the identity of each
individual contacted, the contact's relationship to the candidate, and an account of
the information provided by the contact. All requests for information shall be
documented.
(7) Dissolution
of Marriage Check
(A) Every public safety
dispatcher candidate who indicates one or more marriage dissolutions on the personal
history statement shall have his/her court issued dissolution documents and legal
separation decrees reviewed as an indication of personal integrity, financial
responsibility, and other relevant aspects of candidate suitability.
(B) Proof of the dissolution/separation of
marriage check shall be documented by a copy of all final court-issued dissolution
documents and legal separation decrees.
(8) Neighborhood Checks
(A) Every public safety dispatcher candidate shall
be the subject of contacts and interviews with current and, where practicable,
previous neighbors to determine whether the candidate has exhibited behavior
incompatible with the position sought.
(B) Proof of neighborhood checks shall be
documented by written information showing the identity of each neighbor contacted,
the neighbor's relationship to the candidate, and an account of the information
provided by the individual. All requests for information shall be
documented.
(9) Military
History Check
(A) When applicable, a candidate
shall be required to present proof of Selective Service registration or military
service records.
(B) Proof of a military
history check shall consist of written verification of Selective Service
registration, except for women or any man born prior to January 1, 1960. For any
candidate who indicates military history on the personal history statement, proof
shall consist of an official copy of their DD-214 long form or equivalent
documentation of foreign military service, if available.
(10) Credit Records Check
(A) Every public safety dispatcher candidate shall
be the subject of a credit record search with a bona fide credit reporting agency
(i.e., Experian, TransUnion, Equifax) to determine the candidate's credit standing
with lenders, as an indication of the candidate's dependability and
integrity.
(B) Proof of a credit record
check shall be documented by an official credit report returned by one of the bona
fide credit reporting agencies. The report shall have been created no more than one
year prior to the date of appointment.
(f) Background Investigation Updates
(1) Eligibility
(A) If a public safety dispatcher was initially
investigated in accordance with all current requirements and the results are
available for review, a background investigation update, as opposed to a complete
new background investigation, may be conducted for either of the following
circumstances:
1. The public safety dispatcher
candidate is being reappointed to the same POST-participating department,
or
2. The public safety dispatcher
candidate is transferring, without a separation, to a different department; however,
the new department is within the same city, county, state, or district that
maintains a centralized personnel and background investigation support
division.
(2)
Update Requirements
(A) A new personal history
statement [subsection
1959(c)] with updated
information covering the period from the last personal history statement to the
current date shall be completed by the public safety dispatcher candidate.
(B) The department shall conduct investigations of
all new information reported by the candidate on the new personal history statement.
1. For candidates who are being reappointed to the
same department per subsection
1959(f)(1)(A)1., the
new background investigation shall cover the period since the candidate separated
from the department.
2. For candidates
who are transferring, without a separation, to a different department within the
same city, county, state, or district per subsection
1959(f)(1)(A)2., the
new background investigation shall cover the period since the date the previous
background investigation was completed.
(C) Any area of investigation for which there is
updated information shall be addressed in the updated background investigation. This
shall minimally include a new:
1) Local Criminal
Record Check,
2) State and National
Criminal Check, unless there is written attestation that the candidate was never
removed from the department's personnel files of the DOJ or FBI,
3) Driving Record Check, and
4) Credit Record Check.
(D) Updated background investigation documentation
shall be maintained with the initial background investigation documents.
(E) If the original background investigation was
conducted within one year from the date of reappointment, it is not necessary to
update criminal record checks, driving record check, or credit check.
(g) Documentation and
Reporting
(1) Background Narrative Report
The background investigator shall summarize the background
investigation results in a background narrative report that includes sufficient
information for the reviewing authority to extend, as appropriate, a conditional
offer of employment. The report, along with all supporting documentation obtained
during the course of the background investigation, shall be included in the
candidate's background investigation file. The supporting documents shall be
originals or true, current and accurate copies as attested to by the background
investigator. The background investigation file shall be made available during POST
compliance inspections.
(2)
Retention
The background narrative report and supporting documentation shall
be retained in the individual's background investigation file for as long as the
individual remains in the department's employ. Additional record retention
requirements are described in Government Code section
12946.
(3) Information Access
The information shall be shared with others involved in the hiring
process, such as the screening physicians and psychologists, if it is relevant to
their respective evaluations. There is a duty and/or legal obligation to furnish
this information to those conducting mandated background investigations of public
safety dispatcher candidates on behalf of other public safety dispatcher agencies,
except as specifically provided by statute (Government Code section
6250 et seq.,
Labor Code section
1050, Labor Code
section
1054, O'Shea v.
General Telephone Co. (1987) 193 Cal. App 3d 1040). This information shall only be
utilized for investigative leads and the information shall be independently verified
by the acquiring department to determine the suitability of the public safety
dispatcher candidate.
Note: Authority cited: Sections 13503, 13506 and 13510, Penal
Code. Reference: Section 13510, Penal Code.
Note: Authority cited: Sections
13503,
13506 and
13510, Penal Code.
Reference: Section
13510, Penal
Code.
