ASSEMBLY LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
ASSEMBLY, No. 4379
with committee amendments
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: DECEMBER 7, 2020
The Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 4379.
As amended and reported by the committee, Assembly Bill No. 4379 requires the Superintendent of State Police to establish and maintain an Employment Application Registry database.
Under the amended bill, each law enforcement agency is required to maintain records of all applicants for employment in the agency, and report the information to the Superintendent of State Police for inclusion in the Employment Application Registry. The information contained in the Employment Application Registry is to be confidential and not a public record.
The records to be maintained by the law enforcement agency are to include, but not be limited to: information related to the applicant’s identity; the position for which the applicant submitted an application; whether an offer of employment was made and, if not, the reason, including, but not limited to, whether an offer was not made because the applicant was included in the Central Drug Registry established by the Attorney General as a result of a positive drug test; and whether the applicant is to be disqualified from employment with a law enforcement agency in this State.
Under the amended bill, each law enforcement agency in this State is required to consult the Employment Application Registry prior to making an offer of employment to an applicant.
The amended bill also requires the Attorney General to issue any necessary guidelines and directives including, but not limited to: procedures for the collection of information to be contained in the Employment Application Registry; the reasons for which an applicant is to be disqualified from employment; and procedures for maintaining the confidentiality of information contained in the database.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
The committee made a technical amendment.