‘DBS’ Background Checks Likely to Cover All School, Childcare Staff

by The Yomiuri Shimbun - The Japan News

A policy requiring background checks for employment in education and childcare is likely to apply to all staff employed by schools, daycare centers and kindergartens, it has been learned.

The government is expected to submit a related bill in autumn that includes the establishment of a planned Japanese version of the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), according to government officials.

Read more: https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/general-news/20230803-127295/

Tenant background check reports: Put it in writing

by Amanda Koulousias - Federal Trade Commission

As a landlord – or property manager or other housing provider – you may run background checks on prospective tenants. These reports can include rental and eviction history, credit history, criminal records, and more. Background checks from consumer reporting agencies are consumer reports and under the law you have certain responsibilities when it comes to using them. For instance, you can get a consumer report only if you have a permissible purpose – and you may not use the consumer report for another reason.

Read more: https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2023/07/tenant-background-check-reports-put-it-writing

Employee Data Increasingly in the Crosshairs of Data Privacy Enforcement

by Robert Blamires, Michael H. Rubin, Joseph C. Hansen, Kathryn Parsons-Repone - Latham & Watkins

On July 14, 2023, the California Attorney General announced an investigative sweep targeting large California employers, focusing on employers’ compliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act’s (CCPA’s) recently expanded coverage of employees and job candidates. The announcement follows the expiration of a prior exemption for personnel and business to business (B2B) data under the CCPA (for more information, see this Latham blog post).

Read more: https://www.globalprivacyblog.com/privacy/employee-data-increasingly-in-the-crosshairs-of-data-privacy-enforcement/#page=1

Bill would add regulations for ride-share companies that take students to school

by Carolyn Jones - EdSource

Wilfred Adu-Beng was already grappling with a mountain of hardships after his father and stepmother died. Getting his younger brother — for whom he was suddenly responsible — to middle school every day proved to be one of the biggest hurdles of all.

In essence, it was impossible. Adu-Beng, a psychiatric tech at a hospital near San Bernardino, often worked swing or early morning shifts.

Read more: https://edsource.org/2023/bill-would-regulate-rideshare-companies-that-take-students-to-school/693614

Legislative Update: Texas Limits Local Governments’ Authority to Regulate and Passes the CROWN Act

by Greta Ravitsky, Mason Garner - Epstein Becker Green

The State of Texas infrequently regulates the workplace. This summer, however, Texas enacted two notable workplace laws about which employers should be aware.

Texas Regulatory Consistency Act

On June 13, 2023, Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 2127, the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act (the “Act” or “H.B. 2127”), which amends various Texas statutory codes, including the Labor Code, and preempts local lawmaking in various statutorily governed areas to assert Texas’s “sovereign regulatory powers.” Referred to by its opponents as the “Death Star Bill,” the Act is slated to take effect on September 1, 2023, and effectively prevents cities and counties from passing local ordinances beyond the scope of existing state laws in numerous fields of regulation, including labor and employment, agriculture, and finance.

Read more: https://www.workforcebulletin.com/2023/07/10/legislative-update-texas-limits-local-governments-authority-to-regulate-and-passes-the-crown-act/

Employment Issues in Generative AI

by Evandro C Gigante, Joseph C O’Keefe - The National Law Review

The second webinar in our series, “Employment Issues in Generative AI,” explored the evolving impact of generative AI (or “GAI”) on the workplace and how employers can work to ensure the ethical and responsible use of AI applications and recognize and navigate potential legal issues from existing anti-discrimination and other laws and regulations.  The presenters also offered a list of do’s and don’ts and outlined how employers should develop an AI strategy and policy and how to avoid common pitfalls in AI implementation.

Read more: https://www.natlawreview.com/article/employment-issues-generative-ai

South Korea Consults on Draft Decree to Personal Information Protection Act

by Charmian Aw - The National Law Review

On May 18, 2023, South Korea’s privacy regulator, the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC), released for public consultation a draft decree[1] under the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). The key changes proposed in the draft decree are as follows.

Consent

The draft decree seeks to enhance the right under the PIPA of citizens who are data subjects, to determine how their personal data may be processed. This is done by specifying that, where consent is the appropriate basis for processing personal data, such consent must be freely given by each data subject after it has been made explicitly clear to them that they can choose whether or not to consent. This includes ensuring that any personal data processing policy is implemented and disclosed in an easy-to-understand manner.

Read more: https://www.natlawreview.com/article/south-korea-consults-draft-decree-to-personal-information-protection-act

U.S. Supreme Court Focuses on Subjective Intent in Overturning False Claim Act Cases

by Duane Morris

Writing for a unanimous Supreme Court of the United States, on June 1, 2023, Justice Clarence Thomas issued a decision clarifying the knowledge requirement for cases brought pursuant to the False Claims Act (FCA). In overturning the consolidated cases of United States ex rel. Schutte et al. v. SuperValu Inc., et al. and United States ex rel. Proctor v. Safeway, Inc., the Supreme Court rejected the Seventh Circuit’s focus on the objectively reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous rule or regulation. Instead, the Court held that the FCA’s scienter requirement refers to the defendant’s subjective knowledge and belief at the time the claim is submitted.

Read more: https://www.duanemorris.com/alerts/us_supreme_court_focuses_subjective_intent_overturning_false_claims_act_cases_0623.html

China Issues Guidelines regarding Filing Standard Contracts for Cross-Border Transfer of Personal Information

by Hunton Andrews Kurth

On May 30, 2023, the Cyberspace Administration of China (“CAC”) issued the Guideline for Filing the Standard Contract for Cross-border Transfer of Personal Information (“SC”). On June 1, 2023, the SC became an effective mechanism for transferring personal data outside of China. When using the SC as a transfer mechanism, it must be filed with the CAC and the new Guideline provides guidance for doing so. The key elements of the Guideline are summarized below.

Read more: https://www.huntonprivacyblog.com/2023/06/08/china-issues-guidelines-regarding-filing-standard-contract-for-cross-border-transfer-of-personal-information/

Chicago Enhances ‘Ban the Box’ Legislation Effective for Employers Immediately

by Morgan Lewis, Chloe Keating Leigh, Mikaela Shaw Masoudpout, Anna Perocchi, Stephanie Sweitzer - JD Supra

Chicago’s newly elected mayor, Brandon Johnson, signed amendments on April 24 to Chicago’s “ban the box” ordinance, which became effective immediately and applies to all Chicago employers. Mirroring updates the Illinois legislature made to the Illinois Human Rights Act in 2021, the amendments require Chicago employers to perform an individualized assessment before basing an adverse employment action on an individual’s criminal history, and impose pre-adverse action and final adverse action notice requirements when such decisions are made.

Read more: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/chicago-enhances-ban-the-box-2183390/