PDFWAC 446-20-285

Employment—Conviction records.

Conviction information will be furnished by the state patrol upon written or electronic request of any applicant, business or organization, the state board of education, or the department of social and health services. This information will consist of the following:
(1) Convictions of crimes; and
(2) Criminal history information will be furnished from the division, consistent with the provisions of RCW 43.43.830 through 43.43.840, upon receipt of a written or electronic request.
School districts, the superintendent of public instruction, educational service districts and their contractors will also receive conviction information under RCW 10.97.030 and 10.97.050 pursuant to chapter 159, Laws of 1992.
The division will also furnish any similar records maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation or records in custody of the National Crime Information Center, if available, subject to their policies and procedures regarding such dissemination.
(a) The business or organization making such request will not make an inquiry to the Washington state patrol or an equivalent inquiry to a federal law enforcement agency unless the business or organization has notified the applicant who has been offered a position as an employee or volunteer that an inquiry may be made.
(b) For positive identification, the request for criminal history information form may be accompanied by fingerprint cards of a type specified by the division, and must contain a certification by the business or organization; the state board of education; or the department of social and health services, that the information is being requested and will be used only for the purposes as enumerated in RCW 43.43.830 through 43.43.845.
(c) In the absence of fingerprint cards, the applicant may provide a right thumb fingerprint impression in the area provided on the request for criminal history information form. In the event of a possible match to the applicant's name and date of birth, the right thumb fingerprint impression will be used for identification verification purposes only.
(d) After processing a properly completed request for criminal history information form, if the conviction record, disciplinary authority final decision, or equivalent response from a federal law enforcement agency shows no evidence of crimes, an identification declaring the showing of no evidence will be issued to the business or organization by the division within fourteen working days of receipt of the request. Possession of such identification will satisfy future record check requirements for the applicant for a two-year period.
(e) The business or organization must notify the applicant of the state patrol's response within ten calendar days after receipt by the business or organization. The employer must provide a copy of the response to the applicant and must notify the applicant of such availability.
(f) The business or organization will be immune from civil liability for failure to request background information on a prospective employee or volunteer unless the failure to do so constitutes gross negligence.
[Statutory Authority: Chapters 10.97 and 43.43 RCW. WSR 21-05-044, § 446-20-285, filed 2/11/21, effective 3/14/21; WSR 12-17-114, § 446-20-285, filed 8/21/12, effective 9/21/12; WSR 10-01-109, § 446-20-285, filed 12/17/09, effective 1/17/10. Statutory Authority: RCW 10.97.030 and 43.830-845 [43.43.830- 43.43.845]. WSR 03-05-007, § 446-20-285, filed 2/7/03, effective 3/10/03. Statutory Authority: Chapters 10.97 and 43.43 RCW. WSR 97-05-048, § 446-20-285, filed 2/18/97, effective 3/21/97. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.43.760, 43.43.815 and 43.43.838. WSR 92-15-015, § 446-20-285, filed 7/6/92, effective 8/6/92. Statutory Authority: RCW 10.97.090. WSR 91-24-099 (Order 91-004), § 446-20-285, filed 12/4/91, effective 1/4/92. Statutory Authority: 1990 c 3. WSR 90-20-003 (Order 90-003), § 446-20-285, filed 9/20/90, effective 10/21/90. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.43.838. WSR 89-23-017, § 446-20-285, filed 11/6/89, effective 12/7/89. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.43.838 and 1987 c 486 § 5. WSR 88-07-066 (Order 88-03-A), § 446-20-285, filed 3/17/88.]