While existing law allows California consumers to place security freezes on their credit files maintained by the three major credit reporting agencies Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, new legislation – Senate Bill 1384 (SB 1384) ‘Consumer Reporting Agencies Act’ – would authorize consumers to place similar security freezes on certain other consumer reports containing private financial information. Introduced by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), SB 1384 defines a “nationwide specialty consumer reporting agency” and “consumer file” for purposes of California law and authorizes consumers to place security freezes on consumer files compiled and maintained by nationwide specialty consumer reporting agencies. The full text of the bill is here: California SB 1384. (more…)

A letter published on the Cleveland.com website criticizes a U.S.-based background screening firm for laying off local workers in the Ohio area in March of 2012 and “offshoring” both jobs and the personal data of American consumers collected for background checks outside of the country. The full text of the letter, written by Katharine Sarlog, a former employee of the company who was recently laid off, is available by clicking here: Katharine Sarlog letter. (more…)

According to a report from the Associated Press (AP), a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) that performs employment screening for businesses will close two offices in South Dakota by the end of the year and move those jobs to new sites in Arizona, India, and the Philippines. The AP reports that the company, one of the largest background screening suppliers in the country, says the closings in Aberdeen, South Dakota and Mitchell, South Dakota are due to restructuring and will affect approximately 140 workers. The AP story is the latest case of a large U.S. background screening company “offshoring” the processing of background checks to foreign countries. (more…)

The California Senate Committee on Education has approved legislation – ‘The Social Media Privacy Act’ Senate Bill 1349 (SB 1349) – that would prohibit employers from formally requesting or demanding employees or job applicants provide their usernames and passwords to social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Authored by Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo), SB 1349 would also prohibit public and private colleges and universities from requiring similar information from students. The full text of ‘The Social Media Privacy Act’ (SB 1349) is available at: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/sen/sb_1301-1350/sb_1349_bill_20120327_amended_sen_v98.html. (more…)

In recent weeks, inaccurate criminal background checks from data brokers containing errors that cost job seekers employment have come under fire on several fronts, including a final privacy protection report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommending regulations on data brokers, a letter sent to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) asking for a strengthening of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a report from the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) on inaccurate background check reports, and an article written by safe hiring expert Attorney Lester Rosen, CEO of accredited background check firm Employment Screening Resources (ESR), that is available at http://www.esrcheck.com/articles/NCLC-Report-on-Criminal-Background-Checks-Inaccurate.php. (more…)