BC Refines its Criminal Record Checks Regime

The Province has made it possible for employees and volunteers to rely on a single criminal record check for a five year period with multiple employers, yet an employer's right to require a criminal record check in every case is preserved.

The Province has made some important amendments to the Criminal Records Review Act (the "Act"), directed mostly at employees and volunteers who work with children or vulnerable adults but which could also impact employers. The Criminal Records Review Amendment Act (the "CRRAA") came into force on November 30, 2013, and includes these changes that will be of interest to some employers:

• volunteers of "specified organizations" providing services to children or vulnerable adults (including government agencies, municipalities, school boards and non-profit organizations, among others) are no longer required to pay fees for criminal record checks (while the fee for regular employees has increased from $20 to $28);