During the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year, an independent student newspaper for the University of Georgia wrote an article that informed students that any arrest of a student would be reported by law enforcement to university officials. This includes arrests for underage drinking, possession of marijuana and drunk driving.
Although law enforcement is not required to report to UGA officials if an employee has been arrested, the policy for the University System of Georgia states that employees must inform the school on their own if they are ever arrested. However, a research professional with UGA’s Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology allegedly never disclosed information about his DUI arrest in November to the university because he claims he was never aware of the policy.
Because the employee did not disclose his arrest, some are now wondering what actions UGA can take if employees do not report an arrest for drunk driving or other offenses to university officials.
According to the Red and Black, UGA employees are required to inform Legal Affairs if they have been arrested so that the university can take certain actions depending on the circumstances of one’s arrest. If the university deems that the arrest could impact one’s ability to do his or her job or affect the safety of others, the university may consider terminating the employee or placing the employee on leave until one’s criminal case is resolved.
If an employee doesn’t report an arrest, the school might never know about it. However, if the employee applies for a promotion or is hired in a “position of trust,” the school will most likely run a background check on the employee which would reveal any prior arrests or convictions. In this situation, an employee could be turned down a promotion or fired for failing to disclose an arrest to UGA officials.
Source: The Red and Black, “Univ. expects employees to self-report arrests,” Adina Solomon, Jan. 26, 2012