SB 1045, approved in the February Legislative Session, prohibits employers from obtaining credit histories as part of background checks unless credit-worthiness is “substantially job-related.”   Now it’s up to the state Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) to craft a definition for that phrase.

AOI representatives met last week with Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian to discuss the next steps in defining the scope of the new regulation. AOI has submitted recommendations for when employers should be allowed under the new legislation to conduct a credit check of job applicants. Our definition of “substantially job-related” employment would include:

• A job which includes managerial or fiduciary duties.
• A job in which the employee will have access to funds, property, or assets or to personal, financial, medical, or otherwise confidential information of the employer, or the employer’s customers, vendors, other employees or members of the public.
• A job for which the employer is required to obtain a credit history under provisions imposed by a contract, policy, or practice, to which the employer is legally bound or to obtain a credit history as a condition of obtaining insurance or a surety or fidelity bond.

BOLI expects to issue its rule around April 2, 2010.