Employment Screening Services

City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) is issuing Request for Proposals #MWJ2603 for Employment Screening Services to qualified vendors capable of providing comprehensive pre-employment drug testing, post-employment fitness for duty services, criminal background investigations, employment and education verification, social security number verification, registered sex offender investigations, non-NIDA 5 and 9 panel drug screening, Medical Review Officer services, and breath alcohol testing. CCC, a seven-college system serving approximately 5,000 employees, anticipates screening 1,500 to 1,600 candidates annually, with approximately 75% of the workforce requiring screening services. The successful vendor must deliver a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) cloud-based solution—not on-premise implementation—that integrates with CCC's existing Oracle Taleo Enterprise version 21B.0.2 Applicant Tracking System with onboarding capabilities, consolidates screening and drug testing results into unified reports, supports QuantiFERON-Gold and Serology testing for the nursing department, and maintains multiple collection sites within Chicago city-proper with varying shift availability. The vendor must obtain Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA) accreditation, demonstrate Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) compliance, provide SOC II Type 1 and 2 certifications, and establish comprehensive disaster recovery capabilities. The RFP establishes five packaged service options—Employee Package, Work Study/Student Employee Package, Volunteer Package, Credit Package, and Motor Vehicle Package—each with defined screening components covering seven-year criminal records searches, ten-year employment history verification, educational verification, and drug screening services. The proposal evaluation criteria include responsiveness, vendor qualifications, team structure, technical requirement fulfillment, pricing reasonableness, and MBE/WBE compliance. Key deadlines include the pre-proposal conference on February 25, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. CST via Zoom; question submission by February 27, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. CST; declaration of intent to submit by March 24, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. CST; and complete proposal submission by March 30, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. CST through the EUNA Procurement System.

The procurement includes specific set-aside designations requiring MBE participation goals of 25% and WBE participation goals of 7%, with vendors required to demonstrate compliance with Mayoral Executive Order 2014-1 regarding minimum wage requirements and the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act through weekly payroll submissions via CCC's LCPTracker system. Qualifying vendors must submit three years of audited or non-audited financial statements and maintain comprehensive insurance coverage including cyber liability of not less than $5,000,000, professional liability of not less than $5,000,000, and commercial liability of not less than $5,000,000 per occurrence. The successful vendor will enter into a three-year professional services agreement with an option to renew for an additional two-year period at the discretion of the CCC Board of Trustees, with no incumbent vendor or current contractor identified in the solicitation materials. CCC offers flexible payment terms of Net 15 days via electronic payment, Net 45 days via ACH, or Net 60 days via check; however, no specific contract value or budget range is disclosed in the RFP materials. The cost proposal template requires vendors to provide itemized pricing for all service categories and packaged offerings with both standard and discounted volume pricing options while clearly identifying all value-added services included at no additional cost, such as training and system setup. All costs incurred by proposers for preparation and presentation are borne solely by the vendor, and the contract may be terminated for convenience with ten days' written notice or for default upon material breach.