Minnesota Management and Budget has issued a new statewide directive requiring more rigorous background checks for prospective state employees.
According to an internal “Enterprise Employee Resources” briefing obtained by Alpha News, the “Background Checks” update was sent out early September.
The memo states that “the primary policy change now requires rather than encourages criminal history checks in specific circumstances.”
It adds that the policy “clarifies criminal history checks as well as adding ‘Criminal History Check’ in the Definitions and Key Terms section.”
Under the new rules, agencies will conduct criminal history checks on finalists for each position that “includes access to money or fiscal data, includes access to children or vulnerable adults, and for which the agency otherwise determines there is a job-related basis to conduct a criminal history check.”
“If the criminal history check returns conviction data, the agency shall determine if the conviction(s) directly relate to the position of employment sought. If the conviction directly relates to the position of employment sought, the applicant shall not be disqualified if the person can show competent evidence of sufficient rehabilitation and present fitness to perform the duties,” the updated policy states.
The Wilson Tindi effect?
While MMB hasn’t linked the change to any single event, the timing follows Alpha News’ June exclusive report that revealed Wilson Tindi, a convicted sex offender from Kenya, had been hired into a six-figure auditing and accountability role at the Minnesota Department of Education.
Tindi’s employment ended the same day Alpha News contacted the agency for comment.
After Alpha News’ reporting, MDE said it would start running criminal background checks on all future hires — a shift that seems to mirror the broader statewide update now coming out of MMB.
MMB is the state’s central human resources and finance agency, responsible for setting employment policies that apply across Minnesota’s executive branch departments.
MMB responds
In a statement to Alpha News, an MMB spokesperson said the change was part of a larger effort to align statewide hiring practices.
“We regularly review all our policies to see whether updates are needed,” the spokesperson said. “Criminal history checks were already being conducted by most agencies during the hiring process and are a best practice, so in the latest policy update we made the checks mandatory for all agencies.”
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
