BILL NUMBER: AB 2918	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 25, 2008
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 30, 2008
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 18, 2008
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 26, 2008
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 19, 2008
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 28, 2008
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 7, 2008

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Lieber

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2008

   An act to amend Section 1785.20.5 of the Civil Code, relating to
employment.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2918, Lieber. Employment: usage of consumer credit reports.
   The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the state
Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act define and regulate consumer
credit reports and authorize the use of consumer credit reports for
employment purposes, pursuant to specified requirements. The FCRA
provides that it does not preempt state law, except as specifically
provided or to the extent that state laws are inconsistent with its
provisions.
    Existing federal and state law specify the procedures that a
potential user of a consumer credit report in the employment context
is required to follow before requesting a report and if adverse
action is taken based on the report. Both federal and state law
provide an exemption from liability for a violation of the provisions
specified in those statutes if the person can show, by a
preponderance of the evidence, that he or she maintained reasonable
procedures to ensure compliance with those requirements.
   This bill would prohibit the user of a consumer credit report,
with the exception of certain financial institutions, from obtaining
a consumer credit report for employment purposes unless the
information is (1) substantially job related, meaning that the
information in the consumer credit report relates to the position for
which the person who is the subject of the report is being evaluated
because the position is a highly compensated or managerial one; the
position is a city, county, or both city and county position in which
the employee holding the position has access to money, other assets,
or confidential information; or the report as procured as part of a
background check for a sworn peace officer or other law enforcement
position in which there is access to cash, assets, or confidential
financial information; or (2) required by law to be disclosed to or
obtained by the user of the report. The bill also would extend the
exemption from liability for the maintenance of reasonable procedures
to ensure compliance with the provisions specified in state law to
encompass the new prohibition.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 1785.20.5 of the Civil Code is amended to read:

   1785.20.5.  (a) Prior to requesting a consumer credit report for
employment purposes, the user of the report shall provide written
notice to the person involved. The notice shall inform the person
that a report will be used for employment purposes and the source of
the report, and shall contain a box that the person may check off to
receive a copy of the credit report. If the consumer indicates that
he or she wishes to receive a copy of the report, the user shall
request that a copy be provided to the person when the user requests
its copy from the credit reporting agency. The report to the user and
to the person who is the subject of the report shall be provided
contemporaneously and at no charge to the person who is the subject
of the report.
   (b) (1) The user of a consumer credit report shall not procure a
consumer credit report for employment purposes unless the information
in the report is either of the following:
   (A) Substantially job related, which means that the information in
the consumer credit report relates to the position for which the
person who is the subject of the report is being evaluated because
the position is one in which one or more of the following are
applicable:
   (i) The position is a highly compensated or managerial one.
   (ii) The position is a city, county, or both city and county
position in which the employee holding the position has access to
money, other assets, or confidential financial information.
   (iii) The report is procured as part of a background check for a
sworn peace officer or other law enforcement position in which there
is access to cash, assets, or confidential financial information.
   (B) Required by law to be disclosed to or obtained by the user of
the report.
   (2) This subdivision does not apply to a person or business
subject to Sections 6801 to 6809, inclusive, of Title 15 of the
United States Code and state and federal statutes or regulations
implementing those sections, if the person or business is subject to
compliance oversight by a state or federal regulatory agency with
respect to those sections.
   (c) Whenever employment involving a consumer is denied either
wholly or partly because of information contained in a consumer
credit report from a consumer credit reporting agency, the user of
the consumer credit report shall so advise the consumer against whom
the adverse action has been taken and supply the name and address or
addresses of the consumer credit reporting agency making the report.
A person shall not be held liable for any violation of this section
if he or she shows by a preponderance of the evidence that, at the
time of the alleged violation, he or she maintained reasonable
procedures to ensure compliance with this section.