Purpose

To give counties and cities authority to conduct criminal background checks for certain applicants, with the goal of ensuring suitability for jobs or licenses that involve access to residential or business property. The bill applies to positions at the local level and to licenses for cabarets and massage service businesses.

Key definitions

• Applicant for employment: a person seeking county or city work where the duties include access to residential property or business property.
• Applicant for licensure: a person seeking a county or city license to operate a cabaret or to operate a business providing massage services.

What the bill would allow

• A county or city may investigate the criminal history background of the above applicants.
• The background check must include both a state (Minnesota) criminal history check and a national criminal history check.

How the background checks would work

• The local government must accept the applicant’s signed consent form for the state and national checks.
• The local government must obtain a full set of classifiable fingerprints and the required fees from the applicant.
• The local government must submit the consent form, fingerprints, and fees to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA).
• The BCA will perform the Minnesota criminal history check and may share fingerprints with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to obtain the national criminal history information.
• The BCA must return the results of both the Minnesota and federal background checks to the county or city.
• Using the information provided, the county or city must determine whether the applicant is disqualified from employment or licensure.
• If an applicant refuses to cooperate with the background check, that noncooperation is considered reasonable cause to deny the application.

Significant changes to existing law

• Adds explicit authority for a county or city to conduct federal background checks (via the FBI) as part of a local background screening process for specified employment or licensure.
• Establishes a formal process requiring consent, fingerprints, and fees, and designates the BCA as the conduit for state and national background information.
• Ties the decision to disqualification to the results of the state and national background checks, with noncooperation allowing denial.

Implications

• Expands local government oversight in screening applicants for sensitive roles or licenses.
• Introduces standardized use of both state and national records in determining suitability.
• Raises potential privacy and civil-rights considerations around background checks and access to information.

Relevant Terms - criminal history background - state criminal records repository - national criminal history check - Minnesota criminal history records check - Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) - Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) - fingerprints (full set of classifiable fingerprints) - consent form - cabaret - massage services - county or city - disqualified from employment or licensure - reasonable cause to deny - political subdivisions - local units of government - background check - employment or licensure