Next on the docket? Legislation to regulate how employers compile and use certain background information in the hiring process.
H.B. 527 [pdf] will make it illegal for any employer with 15 or more employees to request a job applicant’s date of birth, social security number, or driver’s license number prior to making an offer of employment, unless it is done to conduct a criminal background check, credit check, driver’s record check, or check of the employer’s own records, and in no case without the applicant’s written consent. It also requires an employer to keep confidential the information learned about a job applicant during the application process and maintain policies on this confidentiality. Finally, it creates a private cause of action for violations.
No doubt, privacy is a hot button issue. In an age of identity theft and cyber crime, we have a heightened sensitivity to the protection of our personal information. This bill certainly resonates for these reasons, and while the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act will already require written consent in the many of the instances covered by H.B. 527, it fills a gap when an employer is running its own background check instead of using the services of a third party consumer reporting agency.
Keep an eye on H.B. 527. It has bi-partisan, Republican heavy support, and may add a new layer of complexity to your hiring processes in the months to come.