Investigative consumer reporting agencies: disclosures.

Existing law requires a person who procures or causes to be prepared an investigative consumer report for employment purposes other than suspicion of wrongdoing to make specified disclosures to the consumer, including, but not limited to, the name and address of the agency conducting the investigation, the nature and scope of the investigation, and information on consumer inspection. This bill would additionally require a person who procures or causes to be prepared an investigative consumer report for employment purposes to provide a consumer with the Internet Web site address or telephone number of the investigative consumer reporting agency where the consumer may find additional information about the agency's privacy practices. Existing law requires investigative consumer reporting agencies to establish reasonable procedures to ensure that specified, prohibited items of information concerning consumers are not part of the reports they furnish. Existing law generally provides that an investigative consumer reporting agency or user of information that fails to comply with any requirement under these provisions with respect to an investigative consumer report is liable to the consumer who is the subject of the report for the sum of the greater of actual damages or $10,000, the costs of the action, reasonable attorney's fees, and, in certain cases, punitive damages, as specified. This bill would additionally require an investigative consumer reporting agency to conspicuously post on its primary Internet Web site information describing its privacy practices with respect to its preparation and processing of investigative consumer reports, or, if it does not have an Internet Web site, to mail a written copy of the privacy statement to consumers upon request. The bill would provide that an investigative consumer reporting agency is liable to a consumer who is harmed by any unauthorized access of the consumer's personally identifiable information, act, or omission that occurs outside the United States or its territories, as specified.