Employers, more than ever before, need to protect themselves against accidents and crimes committed by their employees. With negligent hiring, lawsuits, training costs, workplace violence and theft on the rise, pre-employment screening as well as taking the correct pre-employment screening steps are no longer an option, but rather a necessity for businesses.

California created a statewide standard of background checking EMTs as well as established a paramedic registry. Governor Schwarzenegger signed the bill into law on Thursday.

The bill, AB 2917, had wide support; it passed the state Senate 35-1.

Through the new law, California will be able to develop standards for certification of EMTs. It will also be able to keep track of disciplinary orders and conditions of probations. Presently, in California, there is no repository of this information allowing EMTs who have a history of misconduct to travel from county to county without being caught or prevented from obtaining jobs.

State Assembly Majority Leader, Alberto Torrico, created the bill. He noted that while EMTs are “unsung heroes” in emergency situations, “it was important to push these reforms to prevent others from falling through the cracks.”

The bill had the support of California’s Health & Human Services, the State Firefighters Association, and the Emergency Medical Services Administrators Association of California.

Kudos to California for taking this step!

Tags: background checks, california senate, emt background checks

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