Ahead By a Century: Canada's Rehaul of Privacy Law in 2020

by Joseph A. Gill and Tyler K. Gray - McKercher LLP

In a previous life, I sat in on a data governance meeting as a consultant. During the conversation, the team was discussing an automated decision-making process where one of the pieces of information collected was an individual’s age. Where an individual was under a certain age, they were disqualified and pre-screened out of using a product. Then, one of the team members spoke up and raised a concern about using this automated decision factor, and even whether we should collect this information at all. The team member stated that age alone was not helpful to the company in qualifying or disqualifying the potential customer and may even discriminate against otherwise excellent potential customers. The conversation raised a serious question about the true value of the information to the company’s product delivery. It also raised a question about whether use of that information could be justified if reliance on it to deny access to the product was brought to light.

Read more: https://www.mckercher.ca/resources/ahead-by-a-century-canadas-rehaul-of-privacy-law-in-2020

California's financial regulator starts 2021 with expanded consumer protection responsibility

by Mark Anderson - Sacramento Business Journal

With the new year, California's financial regulator has new tools and abilities to protect consumers from unlawful, deceptive and abusive practices in more financial industries.

The Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, the new name for the Department of Business Oversight, has the ability to investigate and prosecute previously unregulated financial products and services, including debt collectors, credit repair companies, consumer credit reporting agencies, debt relief companies, rent-to-own contractors and private school financing companies.

Read more: https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2021/01/04/california-regulator-financial-fraud.html

Do Organizations Rely on Background Checks Too Much?

By Louis R. Mizell, Jr. and Michael A. Gips - SHRM

Background checks, preemployment screening, background investigations—by whatever name, it's the process of scouring criminal, academic, employment and other records to verify that potential hires are who they say they are and have the background, education and experience they claim.

Read more: https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/do-organizations-rely-on-background-checks-too-much.aspx

Five Things You Should Know About Tenant Screening

by David Anthony and Sarah Crandall - Troutman Pepper

If you have ever leased an apartment, house, or storefront, you have probably agreed to a background check or asked the applicant to do so. What you may not know is that the process of looking into someone’s background is regulated by state, local, and federal law. Here are five points any landlord, tenant, or screening agency should know about tenant screening laws.

Read more: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/five-things-you-should-know-about-81451/

Montgomery County, MD Amends Ban-the-Box Legislation

by Steven Kaplan and Rosa Trembour - Littler

On November 20, 2020, the Montgomery County, Maryland Council approved amendments to its 2014 “ban-the-box” legislation.  The original legislation (Bill 36-14) prohibited employers with 15 or more full-time employees in Montgomery County from conducting a criminal background check of a job applicant, or otherwise inquiring about the criminal or arrest history of an applicant, prior to the completion of a first interview.  Bill 35-20 expands the scope of the previous legislation by prohibiting background checks until after a conditional job offer has been extended, and redefining “employer” to include any employer with one or more full-time employees in Montgomery County.

Read more: https://www.littler.com/publication-press/publication/montgomery-county-md-amends-ban-box-legislation

Bill to overhaul Canada's privacy laws coming soon

by Catharine Tunney - CBC News

As the number of high-profile online consumer security breaches continues to grow, the federal government is expected to introduce a bill soon to shake up Canada's privacy laws — possibly as early as this week.

Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains signalled plans to introduce the legislation late last week on the House of Commons notice paper.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/privacy-bill-bains-1.5801613

New Guidance Clarifies Protections For California Workers With Criminal Records

by Alonzo Martinez - Forbes

Bolstering Covid-19 worker protections, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing ("DFEH") recently clarified the state’s criminal background check regulations. The new guidance expands the scope of California’s Fair Chance Act and places employers on notice regarding DFEH’s intended enforcement of the law.

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alonzomartinez/2020/11/03/new-guidance-clarifies-protections-for-california-workers-with-criminal-records/?sh=7a6d741f6280

7 Tips for International Recruiting Programs in the Era of GDPR and Emerging U.S. Laws

by Morrison Foerster

When your organization is searching to fill a new position, you understandably want to find out as much as possible about the candidates who apply. Aside from determining whether the candidate has the specific skill set, education, and experience necessary to do the job, you want to make sure that the person will fit in with the team. Do they have a positive attitude and integrity? Are they flexible and hard working? Are they a good communicator and team player? Are they dependable and creative? If possible, you want to hear from references provided by the candidate to confirm that the candidate was sincere and meets your organization’s needs. You might even want to check how they behave on the Internet.

Read more: https://www.mofo.com/resources/insights/201030-international-recruiting-programs.html

Mitigating FCRA Risks in the COVID-19 World

by Hunton Andrews Kurth

In the years leading up to the current COVID-19 pandemic, consumer litigation claims related to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) doubled.1 Although there has been a slight decrease in FCRA filings since March 2020 (due in large part to court closures and stay at home orders resulting from COVID-19), we expect FCRA claims will once again be on the rise as courts reopen and the relief measures under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”)2 are tested. Indeed, in the months following the initial COVID-19 outbreak, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) received its highest number of FCRA consumer complaints, with over 14% mentioning coronavirus keywords.3

Read more: https://www.huntonak.com/en/insights/mitigating-fcra-risks-in-the-covid-19-world.html

DFEH Updates “Ban The Box” Regulations And Provides FAQ

by Meagan Bainbridge and Weintraub Tobin - JD Supra

Since its implementation on January 1, 2018, The Fair Chance Act has been a source of questions for California employers. Also referred to as “banning the box,” Government Code section 12952 makes it illegal for most employers in California to ask about the criminal record of job applicants before making a conditional job offer. 

Read more: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/dfeh-updates-ban-the-box-regulations-16361/