15-1649. Fingerprinting academic and nonacademic personnel; civil immunity; definitions

A. The finalist for a security or safety-sensitive position at a university that is under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents shall be fingerprinted as a condition of employment. The finalist shall submit a full set of fingerprints to the university for the purpose of obtaining a state and federal criminal records check pursuant to section 41-1750 and Public Law 92-544. The department of public safety may exchange this fingerprint data with the federal bureau of investigation.

B. A university may use information obtained pursuant to this section only for the purpose of evaluating the finalists for employment in security or safety-sensitive positions. A university may provide information received pursuant to this section to any other university that is evaluating the finalist for employment if the university is under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents. A university may refuse to hire, may rescind an offer of employment to or may review and terminate the employment of a finalist or employee who has been convicted of or who has admitted committing any criminal offense. A university that is considering terminating an employee pursuant to this subsection shall provide due process to the employee in accordance with policies adopted by the Arizona board of regents and the university before taking disciplinary action.

C. A university that relies on information obtained pursuant to this section in making employment decisions is immune from civil liability for use of the information unless the information obtained is false and the university knows the information is false or acts with reckless disregard of the information's truth or falsity.

D. A security or safety-sensitive position shall be identified as a security or safety-sensitive position in the job description and in any advertisements for the position.

E. For the purposes of this section:

1. " Finalist" means any person in the group of individuals actually submitted to the hiring official for selection as a new hire or any employee of a university who seeks a transfer, a reclassification or a reassignment to a security or safety-sensitive position.

2. " Security or safety-sensitive position" means any position designated as a security or safety-sensitive position by a university due to applicable federal or state law or pursuant to rules or policies adopted by the Arizona board of regents or the university.