Pennsylvania law requires residents of the Commonwealth who come into direct contact with minors in the course of their work to be subject to criminal background checks. In view of the number of Lehigh University students who are minors, and the number of other non-student minors frequently present on our campus, all faculty and staff must complete the following background checks:
- Pennsylvania State Police Access to Criminal History (“PATCH” or Act 34 Background Check)
- Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Child Abuse History Clearance (Act 151 Child Abuse Background Check)
- Federal Criminal History Record Information (Act 24 Federal / FBI Criminal History Background Check).
Since Act 153 went into effect in 2015, we have had excellent cooperation from faculty and staff in completing these background checks. In accordance with the law, background checks must be renewed every five years. Thus, in 2020 and the years to come, faculty and staff will be required to complete their checks again to remain in compliance.
Lehigh will continue to contract with CBY to conduct our employees’ background checks, and all checks will be paid for by the University. Before your individual background process is launched by CBY, you will receive an email from the University giving you advance notice.
Once you have received the advance notice email, be sure to check your inbox for the message from CBY and promptly follow the instructions contained in the email. More information on what you can expect during the process can be found on the Human Resources website.