On February 20, 2024, the Los Angeles County Superior Court published a notice announcing that partial Date of Birth (DOB) will no longer be available through kiosks or online effective at the close of business on Friday, February 23, 2024. This announcement and implementation may impact background checks conducted in Los Angeles County. The notice read:
COURT IMPLEMENTS REVISED SEARCH PROCEDURES FOR CRIMINAL CASES: Effective close of business February 23, 2024, the Superior Court of Los Angeles County will no longer include the month and year of birth as criteria in its criminal name search engines. These revised search criteria apply to courthouse kiosks and the Court’s website at LACourt.org.
The removal of DOBs from court record searches is not new. In September 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed Senate Bill 1262 (SB 1262) which would have changed Superior Court rules and provided “a more convenient process for companies conducting commercial background checks,” according to Governor Newsom’s veto message.
SB 1262 would have required publicly accessible electronic indexes of defendants in criminal cases to permit searches based on a defendant’s date of birth, driver’s license number, or both. However, Governor Newsom’s veto message indicated the bill “would also allow any member of the public to easily access individuals ‘ sensitive personal information online.”
The Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA) – a non-profit organization founded in 2003 that represents the background screening industry – supported the passage of SB 1262 “because the only identifier remaining on the publicly available record is often name, which is not enough to conclude that the record is about any specific person.”
Background screening companies conducting criminal background checks usually search court records for a date of birth or driver’s license number along with the subject’s name so they can be sure they are looking at the right records to comply with accuracy requirements under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) that regulates background checks in America.
“The removal of this and other important identifiers from search databases significantly impairs background screening professionals to accurately confirm the identity of prospective employees or residents. Accurate background checks are essential in ensuring your place of employment, children, and community are safe,” the PBSA explained on its website.
ClearStar is a leading global Human Resources technology company specializing in background checks, drug testing, and occupational health screening. ClearStar is a “founding member” of the PBSA that is accredited by the PBSA to perform background screening services. To learn more about background screening services, contact ClearStar.
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Thomas Ahearn - Digital Content Editor
Thomas Ahearn is a Digital Content Editor at ClearStar, a leading Human Resources (HR) technology company specializing in background checks, drug testing, and occupational health screening. He writes about a variety of topics in the background screening industry including Artificial Intelligence (AI), "Ban the Box," class action lawsuits, credit reports, criminal records, drug testing, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Form I-9, identity theft, privacy, social media screening, and workplace violence.
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