HF 3709

as introduced - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to commerce; clarifying that certain credit reporting agencies and
employees are not required to be licensed as private detectives; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 326.3341.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 326.3341, is amended to read:

326.3341 EXEMPTIONS.

Sections 326.32 to 326.339 do not apply to:

(1) an employee while providing security or conducting an investigation of a
pending or potential claim against the employee's employer;

(2) a peace officer or employee of the United States, this state or one of its political
subdivisions, while engaged in the discharge of official duties for the government
employer;

(3) persons engaged exclusively in obtaining and furnishing information as to the
financial standing, rating, and credit responsibility of persons or as to the personal habits
and financial responsibility of applicants for insurance, indemnity bonds, or commercial
credit;

(4) an attorney-at-law while performing the duties of an attorney-at-law or an
investigator employed exclusively by an attorney or a law firm engaged in investigating
legal matters;

(5) a collection agency or finance company licensed to do business under the laws
of this state or an employee of one of those companies while acting within the scope
of employment when making an investigation incidental to the business of the agency,
including an investigation as to location of a debtor, of the debtor's assets or property,
provided the client has a financial interest in or a lien upon the assets or property of the
debtor;

(6) an insurance adjuster employed exclusively by an insurance company, or
licensed as an adjuster with the state of Minnesota and engaged in the business of
adjusting insurance claims; deleted text begin or
deleted text end

(7) persons engaged in responding to alarm signals including, but not limited to, fire
alarms, industrial process failure alarms and burglary alarms, for purposes of maintaining,
repairing or resetting the alarm, or for opening the premises for law enforcement personnel
or responding agents deleted text begin . deleted text end new text begin ; or
new text end

new text begin (8) a consumer reporting agency, as defined in United States Code, title 15, section
1681a, or its employees, provided that the consumer reporting agency complies with the
federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and that the consumer reporting agency's activities are
limited to conducting preemployment background investigations. For purposes of this
clause, "preemployment background investigation" means background investigations,
in-person interviews, telephone interviews, or written inquiries that pertain only to a
client's prospective employee and the prospective employee's employment and that are
engaged in with prior written consent of the prospective employee.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective retroactively from January 1, 2001.
new text end