(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 1051, 1052, and 1054 of the Labor Code and Section 2947 of the Penal Code, a bank or any affiliate thereof, licensed under the laws of any state or of the United States, or any officer or employee thereof, may deliver fingerprints taken of a director, an officer, an employee, or an applicant for employment to local, state, or federal law enforcement agencies for the purpose of obtaining information as to the existence and nature of a criminal record, if any, of the person fingerprinted relating to convictions, and to any arrest for which that person is released on bail or on his or her own recognizance pending trial, for the commission or attempted commission of a crime involving robbery, burglary, theft, embezzlement, fraud, forgery, bookmaking, receiving stolen property, counterfeiting, or involving checks or credit cards or using computers.
(b) The Department of Justice shall, pursuant to Section 11105 of the Penal Code, and a local agency may, pursuant to Section 13300 of the Penal Code, furnish to the officer of the bank or affiliate responsible for the final decision regarding employment of the person fingerprinted, or to his or her designees having responsibilities for personnel or security decisions in the usual scope and course of their employment with the bank or affiliate, summary criminal history information when requested pursuant to this section. If, upon evaluation of the criminal history information received pursuant to this section, the bank or affiliate determines that employment of the person fingerprinted would constitute an unreasonable risk to that bank or affiliate or its customers, the person may be denied employment.
(c) Banks and their affiliates shall submit to the Department of Justice fingerprint images and related information required by the Department of Justice of all directors, officers, employees, or an applicant for employment for the purpose of obtaining information regarding the existence and content of a record of state and federal convictions and also information regarding the existence and content of a record of state and federal arrests for which the Department of Justice establishes that the person is free on bail, or on his or her own recognizance, pending trial or appeal.
(d) When the Department of Justice receives a request under this section for federal summary criminal history information, it shall forward the request to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Once the information is received from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Justice shall review, compile, and disseminate the information to the federally chartered bank or affiliate pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (o) of Section 11105 of the Penal Code.
(e) When the Department of Justice receives a request for federal summary criminal history information from a nonchartered bank, it shall forward the request to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Once the information is received from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Justice shall review and provide a fitness determination on an applicant for employment based on criminal convictions or on arrests for which the person is released on bail or on his or her own recognizance pending trial for the commission or attempted commission of crimes specified in subdivision (a).
(f) A bank or affiliate may request from the Department of Justice subsequent arrest notification service, as provided pursuant to Section 11105.2 of the Penal Code, for persons described in subdivision (a).
(g) The Department of Justice shall charge a fee sufficient to cover the cost of processing the requests described in this section.
(h) Any criminal history information obtained pursuant to this section is confidential and no recipient shall disclose its contents other than for the purpose for which it was acquired.
(i) “Affiliate,” as used in this section, means any corporation controlling, controlled by, or under common control with, a bank, whether directly, indirectly, or through one or more intermediaries.
(Added by Stats. 2011, Ch. 243, Sec. 3. (SB 664) Effective January 1, 2012.)