Privacy Issues in the Community College Workplace

4. C ALIFORNIA P UBLIC S AFETY O FFICER ’ S P ROCEDURAL B ILL OF R IGHTS A CT The Public Safety Officers’ Procedural Bill of Rights Act (POBR), Government Code section 3300, et seq ., specifies elements of procedural rights that must be accorded to public safety officers when they are subject to investigation or discipline. Employees subject to this Act include city police officers, county deputy sheriffs, state police and highway patrol officers, D.A. investigators, parole and probation officers, school district security officers, etc. While this Act falls under the category of California Statutes, it bears specific mentioning here because it governs many of the areas of right of privacy of public safety officers in their personnel relationship with employers. The Act is discussed throughout this workbook. While this workbook does not discuss these issues in depth, districts with police departments (as opposed to security officers) must be aware of these rights.

H IRING I NQUIRIES AND B ACKGROUND C HECKS

S ECTION 2

An applicant or employee’s right to privacy is weighed against an employer’s interest in disclosure. 20 Employers should review their hiring (including promotional) and background check processes to make sure they do not violate applicants’ privacy rights. More specifically, employers should verify that inquiries are not made which cannot be justified by some legitimate reason. Hiring and background inquiries should be tailored to determine only if the applicant can perform the essential duties of the job and will otherwise be a quality employee.

 Legal Snapshot: Hiring Inquiries & Background Checks

 Constitutional Right of Privacy (Cal. Const. art. I, § 1)  Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Cal. Gov. Code §§ 12900, et. seq.  American with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 USC §§ 12101, et. seq.  Public Safety Officers’ Procedural Bill of Rights Act, Cal. Gov. Code §§ 3300, et seq .

Applicable laws:

 Various other federal and California statutes

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Common law torts

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Applicants and employees

Who and what is protected?:

 Personal information that is not job-related

Privacy Issues in the Community College Workplace ©2019 (c) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 14