BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 909|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 909
Author: Wright (D)
Amended: 8/12/10
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 4-0, 5/4/10
AYES: Corbett, Harman, Hancock, Leno
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters
SENATE FLOOR : 22-7, 5/28/10
AYES: Alquist, Calderon, Cedillo, Corbett, DeSaulnier,
Ducheny, Florez, Hancock, Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal,
Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Romero, Simitian,
Steinberg, Wolk, Wright, Yee
NOES: Ashburn, Correa, Dutton, Hollingsworth, Runner,
Strickland, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Aanestad, Cogdill, Cox, Denham, Harman,
Huff, Oropeza, Walters, Wiggins, Vacancy, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-1, 8/16/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Investigative consumer reporting agencies:
disclosures
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires a person (i.e., a prospective
employer) who procures an investigative consumer report for
employment purposes to disclose to the consumer (i.e., an
applicant) the Internet Web site of the investigative
CONTINUED
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consumer reporting agency. This bill also requires the
agency to conspicuously post on its Internet Web site its
privacy policy, including information on whether reports
are prepared or processed outside of the United States or
its territories.
Assembly Amendments (1) recast what a person preparing an
investigative consumer report for employment purposes must
provide to a consumer, (2) recast provisions as to what an
investigating consumer reporting agency must post on its
primary Internet Web site relative to privacy practices,
(3) delete provisions exempting individuals from
requirements relative to information that pertains tp
matters outside of the United States, and (4) make
conforming changes.
ANALYSIS : Existing law regulates the preparation and use
of investigative consumer reports. (Civ. Code Sec. 1786 et
seq.)
Existing law requires that the person seeking an
investigative consumer report for employment purposes must
disclose information, as specified, regarding the
preparation of the report. (Civ. Code Sec. 1786.16(2).)
Existing law requires investigative consumer reporting
agencies to maintain procedures designed to avoid
violations of Civil Code Section 1786.18 and make
certifications as required under Civil Code Section
1786.16. (Civ. Code Sec. 1786.20.)
Existing law provides the liability structure for an
investigative consumer reporting agency or employer that
violates the Act. (Civ. Code Sec. 1786.50.)
This bill:
1.Requires, as of January 1, 2012, a person who procures or
causes to be prepared an investigative consumer report
for employment purposes to notify the consumer of the
Internet Web site address of the investigative reporting
agency's privacy practices, including whether the
consumer's personal information will be sent outside of
the United States or its territories for preparation.
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2.Requires an investigative consumer reporting agency doing
business in this state to conspicuously post on its
primary Internet Web site a description of its privacy
practices with respect to the preparation and processing
of investigative consumer reports. If the agency does
not have an Internet Web site, it shall mail a written
copy of the information to the consumer upon request.
Specifies that the privacy statement shall include, but
not be limited to, both of the following:
A. A statement entitled "Personal Information
Disclosure: United States or Overseas," that indicates
whether the personal information will be transferred
to third parties outside of the United States or its
territories; and,
B. A separate section that includes the name, mailing
address, e-mail address, and telephone number of the
consumer reporting agency representatives who can
assist the consumer with additional information about
privacy practices and policies in the event of a
compromise of the consumer's information.
3.Provides that an investigative consumer reporting agency
shall be liable if a consumer is harmed by an
unauthorized access of the consumer's personally
identifiable information, or act or omission that occurs
as a result of the agency negligently preparing or
processing a report, or portion thereof, outside of the
United States or one of its territories.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/17/10)
Concerned CRAs
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
Accucheck Investigations
Acutraq Information Services
All Background and People Checks
Alliance 2020
AmericanChecked, Inc.
APSCREEN Applicant Screening Company of America
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Applicant Insight, Inc.
Ascertain Screening
Background Profiles
Baxter Research, Inc.
C3 Intelligence, Inc.
Data Access, Inc.
DDS Inc. Employment Screening Services
EasyBackgrounds, Inc.
Edge Information Management, Inc.
EmployeeScreenIQ
Fransco Profiles
KnowMyHire.com
National Application Processing and Screening, Inc.
PreCheck, Inc.
Pre-Employment, Inc.
Proforma Screening Solutions
Verifications, Inc.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : This bill would amend existing law
only as it relates to reports relating to employment.
According to the author's office, investigative consumer
reporting agencies are increasingly subcontracting the
actual assembling and preparation of such reports to
"offshore" companies, that is, companies located outside of
the United States or its territories. Because these other
countries might not have the same privacy protections that
are available under California and federal law, the author
believes that job applicants should know if their personal
information will be sent offshore for report preparation
and, in the event that the personal information is
compromised as a result, then the applicant should have an
appropriate remedy. Specifically, this bill would require
the person procuring the employment report to provide the
consumer with the reporting agency's Internet Web site
address so that the consumer can obtain information on the
agency's privacy policies, including whether personal
information will be sent outside of the United States for
processing or preparation. In addition, the reporting
agency will be required to conspicuously post on its
primary Internet Web site its privacy policy, including
information on whether reports are prepared outside of the
United States and its policies in the event that personal
information is compromised. If the agency does not have an
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Internet Web site, it will be required to provide such
information in writing upon request by the consumer.
Finally, the bill would specify that an investigative
consumer reporting agency, which is already generally
liable to consumers for harms caused by the acts or
omissions of the agency that are in violation of existing
regulations, is also liable to a consumer for harms that
result from unauthorized access to the consumer's personal
data or other acts or omissions that result from the
preparation or processing of the report outside of the
United States or its territories.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill Berryhill,
Tom Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley,
Buchanan, Caballero, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto,
De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Eng, Evans, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey,
Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries,
Jones, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Norby,
V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana,
Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland,
Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines,
Yamada, John A. Perez
NOES: Adams
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bass, Blakeslee, Charles Calderon, Davis,
Knight, Vacancy
RJG:nl 8/17/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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