New Jersey Requires Background Checks for Independent Contractors in Certain Industries

 

On December 19, 2006, Governor Jon Corzine signed legislation requiring companies that enter into contracts to work within, supply, or deliver materials to "designated facilities" to have their employees undergo criminal background checks before being employed in certain positions.

Designated facilities include:

      1. Chemical plants

      2. Nuclear power plants

      3. Research and development laboratories

      4. Any facility required to submit registration forms under the

"Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act" due to use of extraordinarily

hazardous substances

 

The legislation requires all applicants for employment whose job duties could potentially affect public safety and national security to submit to fingerprinting and criminal history background checks. It is recommended that any individual being hired for a position involving information management, aiding public safety, or having access to information or facilities that could jeopardize public safety and national security undergo the background check process.

 

Applicants must furnish written consent for the background checks. Refusal to consent to, or cooperate in, the securing of the requisite background checks will render the applicant disqualified.

 

Contractors are responsible for the cost of their applicants' background checks. The New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety is responsible for performing the background checks and determining whether an applicant is qualified. The Department of Law and Public Safety will notify the applicant, in writing, as to whether he or she is qualified or disqualified and, if disqualified, the conviction(s) that constitute the basis for that determination.