Brown Signs and Vetoes New Laws Effective Jan 1, 2012
Governor Brown vetoed several unappealing employment bills this past weekend. The bills he vetoed include (1) AB 267, which would have invalidated forum selection and choice of law provisions in employment contracts with California employees, (2) AB 325, which would have required California employers to provide bereavement leave, and (3) SB 931, which would have imposed new requirements for use of payroll cards. That is the good news.
The bad news is that Governor Brown signed into law AB 22, which limits California employers’ ability to use credit reports for employment purposes. Under the new law, employers (with the exception of certain financial institutions) are prohibited from obtaining or relying on credit reports for applicants and employees, unless the report is sought in relation to (1) a position in the California Department of Justice; (2) a managerial position (defined as a position that qualifies for the executive exemption from overtime); (3) a sworn peace officer or other law enforcement position; (4) a position for which credit information is required by law to be disclosed or obtained; (5) a position that involves regular access (other than in connection with routine solicitation of credit card applications in a retail establishment) to people’s bank or credit card account information, social security number, and date of birth; (6) a position in which the employee would be a named signatory on the employer’s bank or credit card account, authorized to transfer money on behalf of the employer, or authorized to enter into financial contracts on behalf of the employer; (7) a position that involves regular access to cash totaling $10,000 or more of the employer, a customer, or client during the workday; and (8) a position that involves access to confidential or proprietary information (defined as a legal “trade secret” under Civil Code 3426.1(d)).
Even if the employer is permitted to obtain a credit report under one of the exceptions outlined above, the employer must first provide written notice to the applicant or employee, specifying the permissible basis for requesting the report and providing a box for the employee/applicant to check off to request a copy of the report, which must be provided free of charge and at the same time the employer receives its copy of the report. If employment is denied based on information in a credit report, the employer must advise the applicant/employee and provide the name and address of the credit reporting agency that supplied the report.
Stay tuned! There will be an additional posting by the end of the week.
