Microsoft pre-employment screening

Microsoft works to maintain a safe and secure environment that properly protects our employees, customers, property, personal data, and proprietary information. A comprehensive background screening program is essential for achieving this goal. All candidates for employment and internship are required to satisfactorily complete a background screening prior to commencing employment at Microsoft. Current employees in specific roles may also be subject to periodic rescreening.

The Microsoft Personnel Screening Standard

The Microsoft Personnel Screening Standard applies to all Microsoft employees and interns globally, to the extent lawfully allowable. Personnel involved in the development, operation, or delivery of online services to government or commercial cloud customers may be subject to additional role specific screening requirements and periodic rescreening, in addition to their on-hire screen.

The personnel screening practices for Microsoft online services align with Microsoft's corporate standards and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) controls for personnel screening. Microsoft staff who require access to the following are subject to the Microsoft Personnel Screening Standard:

• Physical access to datacenters, co-locations, secured rooms, cages, server racks, or edge sites that provide the infrastructure supporting online services for government or commercial cloud customers.
• Logical access to government or commercial cloud customer data provided through specific managed environments.
• Network management access to devices and services that transport or store government or commercial cloud customer data.

In countries with robust privacy laws that restrict access to personal information, staff involved in the development, operation, or delivery of online services to government or commercial cloud customers may be subject to additional checks. Specific personnel-related events that trigger screening requirements include:

• New Microsoft staff placed in roles where screening is a defined requirement.
• Internal Microsoft staff transferred or moved to an existing role that currently includes screening as a defined requirement.
• Existing roles that change scope to include screening as a defined requirement.

Microsoft pre-employment screening

Microsoft's Global Security Department is responsible for ensuring candidates are background screened before commencing employment with Microsoft. To the extent permissible by local law the checks include the following:

• SSN trace in the United States or confirmation of identity from a government-issued document in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
• Criminal history checks up to seven years for felony and misdemeanor offenses at the state, county, and local levels, and at the federal level if appropriate in the United States. An international criminal history check (dependent on local law) is applicable for areas outside of the United States.
• Confirmation of highest level of academic achievement
• Five-year employment history
• Global sanctions and enforcement check, including Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) list, and Office of Defense Trade Controls Debarred Persons (DDTC) list checks.

Supplier screening

Microsoft requires that Suppliers (contingent staff) conduct pre-placement background checks on all their personnel who will perform services or projects that require any access to Microsoft owned or leased facilities or access to Microsoft resources such as email, network access, card key, or other access badges.

To the extent permissible by local law, Supplier Screening checks include the following items:

• SSN trace in the United States or confirmation of identity from a government-issued document in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
• Criminal history checks up to seven years for felony and misdemeanor offenses at the state, county, and local levels, and at the federal level if appropriate in the United States. An international criminal history check (dependent on local law) is applicable for areas outside of the United States.
• Global sanctions and enforcement check

In the United States prior to each placement of each supplier staff member to perform for Microsoft, to the extent permissible by local law, Supplier will conduct a pre-placement, and for certain placements, periodic, background check utilizing Microsoft's preferred background check screening service provider who will confirm to Microsoft that the screening meets the Microsoft standard.

Internationally, the foregoing requirement will be implemented in all countries by September 2020 and where not currently implemented, the contract with the third party specifies Microsoft's requirements for screening that must be conducted and the Supplier is responsible for attesting to Microsoft in writing that the background check has been successfully completed.

Microsoft cloud background check

For candidates hired to provide Microsoft online services in the United States, an additional Microsoft Cloud Background Check is required. For more information, see Microsoft cloud background check.