Prince George, BC –  BC’s Privacy Commissioner is recommending the BC Government – the province’s largest employer – change its criminal records check policy for current and potential employees.

In releasing her report today following a 16-month investigation, Elizabeth Denham says she focused on the BC government after it expanded its security screening policy and increased the number of criminal records checks it requested from current and prospective employees.

The Commissioner found that several of the government’s ‘designated position’ categories requiring criminal records checks were overly broad or otherwise not compliant with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA).

In some instances, Denham also found the government is conducting ongoing or multiple criminal records checks on the same employee.  "Government should not be undertaking regular updates on current employees’ criminal record history without a justifiable reason for an additional check," she says."

The Commissioner says record checks are important tools to assess a person’s character and suitability for certain positions, such as: working with children and vulnerable adults; persons with significant expense authority or unrestricted access to sensitive data and information systems.  "However, not every hiring decision needs a record check," says Denham.  "And I am concerned about the societal trend towards increased employment-related records checks without clear evidence as to their benefit in safeguarding the workplace."

The Privacy Commissioner has included 16 ‘best practises’ for employment-based records checks by BC public agencies and is calling on the government to report annually publicly on its use of criminal records checks for employees, including aggregate data on numbers, results, and appeals.