California Employers Must Get Applicant OK for Background Check (CORRECTED)

California employers, lenders, and landlords must obey the tougher of two privacy laws and inform applicants before investigating their background, the state Supreme Court ruled Aug. 20.

The 7-0 decision affects the thousands of credit, employment, and housing decisions made daily in California under two laws. One of them requires prior notice and authorization before certain types of background investigative reports are ordered. The other covers more consumer-oriented information that doesn’t require advance disclosure or consent.

The justices upheld a lower court ruling that school bus transportation company First Student Inc., part of FirstGroup plc, failed to adequately notify and ...