University of California: employees, volunteers, and contractors: background checks.
What changed between versions
A new Section 1 containing legislative findings and declarations was added, explaining that UC already requires background checks for Critical Positions after conditional offers, that this act does not change existing UC policies, and that the US DOJ grace period for UC's 'State Employee applicant type' expires January 1, 2027.
Covered individuals expanded from 'prospective employee or volunteer' to 'prospective staff employee, contractor, or volunteer,' explicitly adding contractors and clarifying the employee category as 'staff employee.'
The core obligation changed from mandatory ('shall require') to permissive ('may require'), shifting the bill from imposing a new requirement on UC to authorizing an existing practice.
The findings section introduces UC's own definition of 'Critical Positions' from its Personnel Policies for Staff Members: positions with sensitive administrative, programmatic, or managerial duties that could potentially cause human, financial, or property loss or other significant risk to the university.
Terminology changed from 'application process' to 'recruitment process' in describing when background checks occur.