§ 652-a. Employees of the New York state higher education services
corporation; background checks. 1. Current and prospective employees of
the corporation shall be subject to background and security clearance
investigations required in the ordinary course of the corporation's
business if background and security clearance are necessary for employee
participation or proposed participation in the administration of federal
student loans or other federal programs under the federal direct loan
program.

2. Such background or security clearance investigation shall be
performed by the corporation or on behalf of the corporation by a state
or federal government agency authorized to perform such investigations.
The corporation shall be authorized to request and receive from the
division of criminal justice services or federal government agency
having facilities for performing such services: security clearance
information, including criminal background and credit information for
corporation employees, New York state employees seeking transfer to the
corporation under section seventy of the civil service law, New York
state employees seeking hire at the corporation who are on a preferred
list subject to section eighty-one of the civil service law, or New York
state employees seeking hire at the corporation through their place on
an eligible list as defined in section fifty-six of the civil service
law and who have successfully completed a promotional exam subject to
section fifty-two of the civil service law if such security information
is necessary for the employees to be in compliance with the
administration of federal student loans or other federal programs under
the federal direct loan program. The corporation shall inform subjects
of background and security clearance investigations of the factors to be
considered in the evaluation of the criminal background information and
credit information obtained.

3. If an employee or prospective employee needs background and
security clearance in order to be compliant with the administration of
federal student loans or other federal programs under the federal direct
loan program, the corporation shall be authorized to require such an
employee or prospective employee to submit to the corporation or other
state or federal government agency authorized to perform such
investigations identifying information, which shall include
fingerprints, personal information, or other authorizations, required by
the corporation or the division of criminal justice services or federal
government agency authorized to perform such investigations. The
fingerprints so obtained shall be forthwith forwarded to the division of
criminal justice services for a state criminal history record check, and
the federal bureau of investigation or other federal government agency
having facilities for conducting a national criminal history record
check, for the purposes of determining whether or not criminal charges
are pending against the employee or prospective employee or whether or
not the employee or prospective employee had previously been convicted
of a crime, and such agency shall report a finding of such pending
charges and previous convictions, if any, to the corporation in writing
or by electronic means or any other method agreed upon by the
corporation and the agency. All such criminal history records or other
background information received by the corporation shall be confidential
pursuant to applicable federal and state laws, rules and regulations,
and shall not be published or in any way disclosed except to those
employees of the corporation responsible for evaluating the information
obtained or upon the request of federal officials responsible for
administration of a federal student loan program. All determinations
made pursuant to this section shall be in accordance with the provisions
of subdivision sixteen of section two hundred ninety-six of the
executive law and article twenty-three-A of the correction law unless
such provisions are in direct conflict with federal law or federal loan
program requirements. The corporation shall provide the subject of the
criminal history check or checks with a copy of any criminal history
record together with a copy of article twenty-three-A of the correction
law and inform such applicant of his or her right to seek correction of
any incorrect information contained in such record. The subject shall
have the right to seek correction of any incorrect information contained
in such records pursuant to applicable state and federal laws and
regulations. The corporation shall be responsible for any fees
associated with background and security checks required by this section
for current employees.