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The village board adopted a housekeeping measure last week sealing the municipality’s authority to conduct background checks on anyone applying for a paid or unpaid position with the village.
West Salem has long been looking into criminal and traffic histories of workers, said Village Administrator Teresa Schnitzler.
The ordinance came at the behest of the Crime Information Bureau, a division of the Wisconsin Department of Justice the village uses to conduct background checks.
West Salem Police Chief Charles Ashbeck said the measure was necessary to comply with the bureau’s existing policies.
Under the ordinance, submitting a job or liquor license application constitutes consent to a background check.
The practice is similar to the city of La Crosse’s, in which prospective employees and volunteers are open to various background checks.
“In HR, we do background checks on everybody,” said Wendy Oestreich, interim director of La Crosse human resources. Appropriate histories are performed on department heads, snowplow drivers and soccer coaches alike.
La Crosse’s Parks and Recreation Department handles its own recruitment, and it, too, does background checks on everyone, including lifeguards, coaches and instructors, said Recreation Supervisor Joe Protz.
A criminal history doesn’t automatically preclude someone from being hired, Oestreich noted. The information has to be relevant.
The city clerk’s office routes all license applications — from liquor to bartending to taxi licenses — through the police department for background checks.
