Public safety agencies would seek applicants’ permission to check work records

Hiring agencies would ask applicants for signed permission to contact past employers and seek records. The requirement would cover agencies checking the background of public safety officer applicants in Montana. After receiving signed permission, the hiring agency would have to make a good faith effort to contact every current or former public safety employer. The text does not expressly require applicants to sign. This would apply to background investigations started on or after the act’s effective date, excluding investigations already underway that day.

Public safety employers would have to release covered records in response to a hiring agency’s request made after receiving the applicant’s signed permission. Covered records would include complete disciplinary and investigation findings and orders, plus employment records relevant to public safety duties. Medical files, schedules, pay and benefits, and similar administrative records would be excluded. A nondisclosure agreement would not block release. A hiring agency could seek a court order requiring an employer to release withheld records. This would apply to background investigations started on or after the act’s effective date.

Public safety agencies acting in good faith would receive protection from civil and criminal liability for covered disclosures and official interviews about former employees. The protection would cover public safety agencies complying with the records requirements or joining an official investigator’s interview about a former employee. Agencies would have to act in good faith; the provision also permits truthful statements about why a former employee was discharged. Because it limits government liability, the draft requires approval by two-thirds of the members of each legislative house. The act would cover background investigations started on or after its effective date, excluding investigations already underway that day.