Governor Schwarzenegger just vetoed Assembly Bill 943, which was intended to prohibit the use of consumer credit reports for employment screening purposes unless the information is substantially job related or required by law to be disclosed or obtained by the user of the report. The governor also vetoed a similar bill last year on the basis that California's employers have inherent needs to obtain applicant information as part of the employment screening process. This measure would have significantly increased the exposure for potential litigation over the use of credit checks. Furthermore, existing laws already provide protection for employees from improper use of credit reports for employment screening purposes.

This action is a victory for California employers and businesses alike that rely on the procurement of relevant credit history data as part of their pre-employment screening process.

Questions about how these developments affect employment screening? Visit www.CorporateScreening.com, contact Corporate Screening Support at 800-229-8606 and select option 3, or contact your Corporate Screening Employment Screening Account Representative.