Governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper has signed into law a bill passed by the Colorado General Assembly – SB13-018, the “Employment Opportunity Act” – that specifies the purposes for which consumer credit information such as consumer credit reports and credit scores can be used by private sector employers or potential employers with four or more employees in making employment-related decisions. More information about the “Employment Opportunity Act”, which takes effect July 1, 2013, is available at http://www.coloradocapitolwatch.com/bill/0/SB13-018/2013/1/. (more…)

South Carolina state labor department officials have cited 323 businesses for violating a 2011 law requiring employers to use the federal E-Verify employment eligibility verification system to determine if newly hired employees can work legally in the United States, according to a report on The State website. Less than 10 percent of companies that were part of first year of mandatory immigration checks failed to comply with the law. The article is available at http://www.thestate.com/2013/03/25/2693045/more-than-300-sc-companies-cited.html. (more…)

In a move that could significantly limit access to public court records, a trailer bill written by the California Administrative Office of the Courts proposes to charge a $10 fee on nearly every court file requested by members of the general public – including journalists and court researchers who review a large amount of files for news stories and background checks – according to an article on the Courthouse News Service website. The article is available at http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/03/13/55701.htm. (more…)

Legislation recently introduced in the New Jersey Senate – Senate Bill No. 2586, ‘The Opportunity to Compete Act’ (OCA) – would “ban the box” asking about criminal histories on job applications and restrict questions by employers about criminal records of current employees or applicants. The OCA would also prohibit employers in New Jersey from inquiring about the criminal history of job applicants until after a “conditional offer of employment” is made. The full text of Senate Bill No. 2586, ‘The Opportunity to Compete Act’ is available at http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2012/Bills/S3000/2586_I1.PDF. (more…)

Legislation currently in Congress – H. R. 537, the Social Networking Online Protection Act (SNOPA) – would enhance social media privacy by protecting users of social networking sites from having to divulge personal information such as usernames and passwords to employers and schools. Re-introduced by Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY-16), Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-9), and Congressman Michael Grimm (R-NY-11), SNOPA would protect employees, job applicants, students, and people facing disciplinary action from being required to give information used to access online accounts. The full text of the SNOPA legislation is available at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr537/text. (more…)