Edmund G. Brown Jr., or California’s Governor Jerry Brown, signed 760 bills in 2011, many of which bills signed into law took effect on January 1, 2012. These new laws cover every gamut of a wide spectrum of laws concerning child actors, shark fins and California Dream Act to clemency, cyber-bullying, elder abuse and more. For the unemployed, a bill signed into law by Gov. Brown last year on October 9, 2011, may act as a gift that just keeps giving.
WHAT WAS AB 22?
AB 22 was a bill now signed into law that amended section 1786.20.5 of the Civil Code and added Chapter 3.6 to Part 2 of Division 2 of the Labor Code relating to employment.
WHAT DOES IT DO AND HOW DOES IT WORK?
Under the previously existing state law, an employer could request a credit report for employment purposes so long as he or she provided prior written notice of the request to the person for whom the report is sought. Previously existing state law also required that a written notice informed the person for whom the consumer credit report is sought that a report will be used and of the source of the report and contain space for the person to request a copy of the report. It also further required an employer whenever he or she based an adverse employment decision on information contained in a consumer credit report and advised the person for whom the report was sought that an adverse action was taken based upon information contained in the report and provided the person with the name and address of the consumer credit agency making the report.
After January 1, 2012, an employer or prospective employer in California is prohibited, with the exception of certain financial institutions, from obtaining a consumer credit report, as defined, for employment purposes unless the position of the person for whom the report is sought is (1) a position in the state Department of Justice, (2) a managerial position, as defined, (3) that of a sworn peace Officer or other law enforcement position, (4) a position for which the information contained in the report is required by law to be disclosed or obtained, (5) a position that involves regular access to specified personal information for any purpose other than the routine solicitation and processing of credit card applications in a retail establishment, (6) a position in which the person is or would be a named signatory on the employer’s bank or credit card account, or authorized to transfer money or enter into financial contracts on the employer’s behalf, (7) a position that involves access to confidential or proprietary information, as specified, or (8) a position that involves regular access to $10,000 or more of cash, as specified.
HOW IS THIS BENEFICIAL?
As many of the jobs being created today in Los Angeles do not fall into one of the above categories and many of the 99ers have experienced downturns in their credit ratings along with blemishes appearing on their credit histories, the amendments made to the civil and labor codes regarding employment come welcomed this 2012, a gift that keeps giving for those falling off the unemployment insurance rolls that need a quick return to work in any position who no longer have to fear a consumer credit report as a reason for being denied work. Of course, job creation efforts in areas of middle-salary need to be amped with a quickness or else California will soon find itself with a two-tier society: a society of the rich and the working poor, although this is topic for another report.
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