                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

APPLICANT PREEMPLOYMENT INFORMATION WITH FIRE DEPARTMENTS (§ 27-6.2)

Applicants for employment with the fire department of any locality having a
local ordinance adopted in accordance with § 19.2-389 may be required to submit
to fingerprinting and to provide personal descriptive information to be
forwarded along with the applicant&#8217;s fingerprints through the Central
Criminal Records Exchange and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the
purpose of obtaining criminal history record information regarding such
applicant; however, such applicants shall, if required by local ordinance, pay
the cost of the fingerprinting or criminal records check or both.
		The Central Criminal Records Exchange, upon receipt of an applicant&#8217;s
record or notification that no record exists, shall make a report to the fire
chief or his designee, who must belong to a governmental entity. In determining
whether a criminal conviction directly relates to a position, the locality shall
consider the following criteria: (i) the nature and seriousness of the crime;
(ii) the relationship of the crime to the work to be performed in the position
applied for; (iii) the extent to which the position applied for might offer an
opportunity to engage in further criminal activity of the same type as that in
which the person had been involved; (iv) the relationship of the crime to the
ability, capacity or fitness required to perform the duties and discharge the
responsibilities of the position being sought; (v) the extent and nature of the
person&#8217;s past criminal activity; (vi) the age of the person at the time of
the commission of the crime; (vii) the amount of time that has elapsed since the
person&#8217;s last involvement in the commission of a crime; (viii) the conduct
and work activity of the person prior to and following the criminal activity;
and (ix) evidence of the person&#8217;s rehabilitation or rehabilitative effort
while incarcerated or following release.
		If an applicant is denied employment because of information appearing in his
criminal history record, the locality shall provide a copy of the information
obtained from the Central Criminal Records Exchange to the applicant. The
information shall not be disseminated except as provided for in this section.

HISTORY: 2001, cc. 353, 373; 2003, c. 739; 2018, c. 834.