House Bill 3535c1

    Florida House of Representatives - 1998             CS/HB 3535

        By the Committee on Law Enforcement & Public Safety and
    Representative Arnall





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to release of employee

  3         information by employers; amending s. 768.095,

  4         F.S.; expanding provisions relating to employer

  5         immunity from liability and disclosure of

  6         information regarding former employees to

  7         include immunity from liability for current

  8         employers and disclosure of information with

  9         respect to current employees; providing

10         specified requirements of employers with

11         respect to a background investigation of an

12         applicant for employment or appointment as a

13         full-time, part-time, or auxiliary law

14         enforcement officer, correctional officer, or

15         correctional probation officer; providing

16         requirements with respect to an authorization

17         to release information; providing a penalty for

18         noncompliance; providing an effective date.

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20  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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22         Section 1.  Section 768.095, Florida Statutes, is

23  amended to read:

24         768.095  Employer immunity from liability; disclosure

25  of information regarding former or current employees.--An

26  employer who discloses information about a former or current

27  employee's job performance to a prospective employer of the

28  former or current employee upon request of a the prospective

29  employer or of the former or current employee is presumed to

30  be acting in good faith and, unless lack of good faith is

31  shown by clear and convincing evidence, is immune from civil

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1998             CS/HB 3535

    604-127-98






  1  liability for such disclosure or its consequences.  For

  2  purposes of this section, the presumption of good faith is

  3  rebutted upon a showing that the information disclosed by a

  4  the former or current employer was knowingly false or

  5  deliberately misleading, was rendered with malicious purpose,

  6  or violated any civil right of the former or current employee

  7  protected under chapter 760.

  8         Section 2.  (1)  When a law enforcement, correctional,

  9  or correctional probation officer is conducting a background

10  investigation of an applicant for temporary or permanent

11  employment or appointment as a full-time, part-time, or

12  auxiliary law enforcement, correctional, or correctional

13  probation officer with an employing agency as defined in ss.

14  943.10(4), the applicant's current or former employer, or the

15  employer's agent, shall provide to the officer conducting the

16  background investigation the complete employment record of the

17  applicant and, to the extent known, any other such information

18  requested about the applicant.  The investigating officer must

19  present to the current or former employer credentials

20  demonstrating employment with the employing agency.  Upon the

21  presentation of an authorization for release of information

22  form that must be designed and approved by the Criminal

23  Justice Standards and Training Commission, the employer shall

24  provide to the investigating officer the requested

25  information, which may include a copy of the complete

26  employment record or portion thereof. The form must:

27         (a)  Be either the original authorization or a copy or

28  facsimile of the original authorization.

29         (b)  Have been executed by the applicant no more than 1

30  year prior to the request.

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1998             CS/HB 3535

    604-127-98






  1         (c)  Contain a statement that the authorization has

  2  been specifically furnished to the presenting law enforcement

  3  agency.

  4         (d)  Bear the notarized signature of the applicant.

  5         (2)  Whoever fails to comply with the provisions of

  6  this section commits a noncriminal violation, punishable by a

  7  fine of up to $500.

  8         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

  9  law.

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