In response to state audit revealing 40 felons employed in the University of Wisconsin System, some legislators are calling for more stringent background check policies.

The Legislative Audit Bureau compared the UW System payroll to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections' list of felons who are still under state supervision. Of the 40 felons found to be working in the UW System, 27 are employed by UW-Madison.

The audit also included recommendations to the UW System and the Board of Regents; including suggestions the system should determine which types of jobs would require background checks and to formulate a system-wide policy for conducting them.

"There is no reason [the felons] should be on the payroll," Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, said. "If the UW had a uniform [background check] policy, we may not have seen molesters and murderers show up in the audit."

Suder and state Sen. Rob Cowles, R-Green Bay, announced their intentions Tuesday to draft legislation which would require mandatory background checks for all UW System faculty and staff.

However, UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley said to conduct extensive criminal background checks on all university employees would be unreasonable, adding that criminal records for other states and countries are not always accessible.

"To really be sure that you've caught everything that you're looking for would be extraordinarily expensive," Wiley said. "In fact, it's not even clear that it would be possible."

Wiley said the question that needs to be addressed is at what scale and to what extent criminal background checks would be cost effective.

But a majority of businesses and all K-12 schools in Wisconsin already have comprehensive background check procedures for all potential employees, Suder noted.

And according to Suder, there is no reason UW should do otherwise.

The felon audit discussed the nature of background check polices in Wisconsin, noting a discrepancy between checks conducted on state employees and those used by the UW System.

According to the audit, statutes and administrative rules in Wisconsin require criminal background checks of all licensed primary and secondary educators, as well as candidates for law enforcement and caregiver positions.

The UW System Administration, though, does not have a policy overseeing criminal background checks, according to the audit. Additionally, institutions which conduct background checks vary significantly in which positions are subject to the checks.

"We have always provided background checks in pertinent areas," said Darrell Bazzell, vice chancellor for administration at UW-Madison.

Employees in daycare centers, housing facilities and sensitive material labs are all subject to background checks, he added.

Bazzell also noted a campus committee is already looking into the nature of criminal background checks at UW-Madison to determine if any changes are necessary. A system-wide policy will likely be developed, Bazzell added.

Rep. Robin Kreibich, R-Eau Claire, emphasized a need for a system-wide policy regarding background checks, as well as more clearly defined guidelines for dealing with those charged with crimes while employed by the UW.

"For new incoming hires, there should be a way to conduct background checks, for sexual predators especially," Kreibich said. "We have the infrastructure with campus police departments, which might be the way to provide background checks on new employees."

In addition, U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Wis., called the audit findings "one more black eye to the UW System," and said the background check system needs to be reexamined.

"We want families to have faith in the UW System," he said.