Principles for Public Safety Employment

Employers may charge reasonable fees to cover actual costs incurred in copying and furnishing documents to law enforcement agencies conducting background investigations of peace officer applicants. 14 B. F IRE P ERSONNEL B ACKGROUND I NVESTIGATIONS In contrast to peace officers, there are no statutes that specifically delineate how background investigations of fire personnel should be conducted. But employers should ensure that the background investigations only seek information that is job-related and consistent with business necessity. Organizations may publish standards and procedures, but they do not have the effect of law and must be tailored to suit the unique needs of the individual agencies applying them. C. L EGAL R ESTRICTIONS ON B ACKGROUND I NVESTIGATIONS I MPOSED BY THE F AIR C REDIT R EPORTING A CT AND / OR THE C ALIFORNIA I NVESTIGATIVE C ONSUMER R EPORTING A GENCIES A CT The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) and the California Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (“ICRAA”) are two consumer protection laws which impact the conduct of background investigations, even in the public safety context. 15 While the scope of the FCRA and ICRAA are not addressed fully in this workbook, these laws place onerous restrictions on background investigations, particularly for investigations conducted by third parties. For example, the FRCA generally precludes the use of the following information in background reports prepared by third parties:  Bankruptcy actions which are older than ten years from the date of the background investigation;  Civil suits, civil judgments, and records of arrest that, from the date of entry, antedate the report by more than seven years or until the governing statute of limitations has expired, whichever is longer;  Paid tax liens which, from date of payment, antedate the report by more than seven years.  Accounts placed for collection or charged to profit and loss which antedate the report by more than seven years.  Any other adverse item of information, other than records of convictions of crimes which antedates the report by more than seven years. 16 Similarly, the ICRAA precludes the use of the following information in background checks performed by third parties:  Bankruptcies that, from the date of adjudication, antedate the report by more than ten years;  Civil suits and satisfied judgments that antedate the background report by more than seven years;

Principles for Public Safety Employment ©2022 (s) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 13