2010 Tennessee Code
Title 68 - Health, Safety and Environmental Protection
Chapter 140 - Emergency Services
Part 5 - Emergency Medical Services Act of 1983
68-140-525 - Criminal background check as condition of employment.

68-140-525. Criminal background check as condition of employment.

(a)  As a condition for employment of any licensed EMT and EMT-P, or such certificates and authorizations as shall be issued for other EMS personnel, employers shall be allowed to initiate a criminal background check on any person applying for employment, or any employee that is currently employed by such employer, and such criminal background investigation shall be at the expense of the employer.

(b)  Applicants shall:

     (1)  Provide past work history and personal references to be checked by the employer;

     (2)  Agree to the release of only such information and investigative records to the employer, or to any agency that contracts with the state of Tennessee, necessary for the purpose of verifying whether the individual has been convicted of a felony in the state of Tennessee;

     (3)  Supply a fingerprint sample and submit to a criminal history records check to be conducted by the Tennessee bureau of investigation, the federal bureau of investigation, other law enforcement agency, or any legally authorized entity; and

     (4)  Release any information required for a criminal background investigation by a professional background screening organization or criminal background check service or registry.

(c)  Any cost incurred by the Tennessee bureau of investigation, federal bureau of investigation, professional background screening organization, law enforcement agency or other legally authorized entity, in conducting such investigations of such applicants shall be paid by such applicants. In the event that such applicants fail to pay for these incurred expenses, the responsibility for payment will fall to the employer originally requesting such criminal background checks. Payments of such cost to the Tennessee bureau of investigation are to be made in accordance with the provisions of §§ 38-6-103 and 38-6-109.

[Acts 2004, ch. 873, § 1.]