20 Years
Employment History Covered
~1 Week
Typical Report Turnaround
PBSA
Accredited Screening Partner

What Is New Jersey Title 18A?

New Jersey Chapter 6 of Title 18A — codified under N.J.S.A. 18A:6-7.6 through 7.11 — is legislation designed to prevent individuals with histories of sexual misconduct or abuse from continuing careers in positions that involve working with children. The law addresses a gap that has long existed in the education sector: schools sometimes handle incidents internally — through quiet resignations or private agreements — without involving law enforcement. That practice allows offenders to move on and apply for positions at other institutions, carrying no visible record of misconduct with them.

Title 18A closes that gap by requiring educational employers to conduct structured employment verifications spanning the applicant's work history going back 20 years — specifically targeting past employers who may have knowledge of misconduct that never became part of any criminal record.

The core problem: A criminal background check will not surface misconduct that was handled privately by a school. If an employee resigned under pressure — or was quietly let go — that incident will not appear in any criminal database. Employment verification under Title 18A is specifically designed to reach information that criminal searches cannot.

How the Process Works

1
School Paperwork
The hiring school completes standard client paperwork meeting PBSA-accredited requirements. This establishes permissible purpose and authorizes Research Services to conduct the verification on behalf of the institution.
2
Applicant Consent and Documentation
The applicant provides a signed consent form, a current resume listing all prior educational employers, and a completed Sexual Misconduct/Abuse Disclosure Release — a specific authorization required under Title 18A that allows prior employers to respond candidly to verification requests.
3
Outreach to Prior Employers
Verification requests are sent to all past and current employers identified in the applicant's employment history going back 20 years. We contact each institution directly and document every attempt — including unresponsive employers and the specific contact methods used.
N.J.S.A. 18A:6-7.11 — Employer Immunity
Prior employers are legally protected when they respond. Under Title 18A, any employer, school, administrator, or contracted service provider that provides information in response to a verification request is immune from civil and criminal liability — unless the information provided was knowingly false.
4
Meticulous Documentation
Every outreach attempt is recorded — dates, contacts, response or non-response. The final report notes which employers responded, what information was provided, and which employers did not respond despite documented contact attempts. This documentation trail is itself a compliance requirement under the law.
5
Report Delivered
The completed verification report is provided to the hiring school, detailing responses from prior employers and noting any gaps or non-responses. The school uses this report as part of its hiring decision under Title 18A.

Timeline

Typical Report Turnaround
Same Day
Best case — when all employers respond quickly
~1 Week
Typical completion time for most reports
Up to 4 Weeks
Worst case — unresponsive prior employers

Turnaround depends primarily on how quickly prior employers respond to verification requests. Institutions that are well-organized and responsive can return results within hours. Others — particularly smaller or older employers — may require multiple follow-up contacts. We document all attempts regardless of outcome.

Most reports are completed well before the four-week mark. Where a school requires only three documented good faith attempts before a report can be closed, turnaround is often significantly shorter — even when an employer is unresponsive. The four-week window reflects the worst case: institutions with multiple prior employers across different states, some of whom require repeated follow-up before responding or being marked non-responsive.

Additional Searches for NJ Educational Employers

Title 18A employment verification works alongside — not instead of — a full background screening program. New Jersey educational employers typically pair this verification with:

FCRA & PBSA Notice: All verification services conducted by Research Services comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. We are PBSA-accredited and require proper candidate authorization and permissible purpose before initiating any search.
H
Heather F.D.
Assistant Manager — Research Services
860-678-0066 heather@ctbackgroundchecks.com

NJ Title 18A Compliance Starts Here

Research Services conducts Title 18A employment verifications for New Jersey educational institutions — meticulous documentation, PBSA-accredited, FCRA-compliant.

Contact Us Employment Verification