1808.1
. (a) The prospective employer of a driver who drives a
vehicle specified in subdivision (k) shall obtain a report showing
the driver's current public record as recorded by the department. For
purposes of this subdivision, a report is current if it was issued
less than 30 days prior to the date the employer employs the driver.
The report shall be reviewed, signed, and dated by the employer and
maintained at the employer's place of business until receipt of the
pull-notice system report pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c). These
reports shall be presented upon request to an authorized
representative of the Department of the California Highway Patrol
during regular business hours.
(b) The employer of a driver who drives a vehicle specified in
subdivision (k) shall participate in a pull-notice system, which is a
process for the purpose of providing the employer with a report
showing the driver's current public record as recorded by the
department, and any subsequent convictions, failures to appear,
accidents, driver's license suspensions, driver's license
revocations, or any other actions taken against the driving privilege
or certificate, added to the driver's record while the employer's
notification request remains valid and uncanceled. As used in this
section, participation in the pull-notice system means obtaining a
requester code and enrolling all employed drivers who drive a vehicle
specified in subdivision (k) under that requester code.
(c) The employer of a driver of a vehicle specified in subdivision
(k) shall, additionally, obtain a periodic report from the
department at least every 12 months. The employer shall verify that
each employee's driver's license has not been suspended or revoked,
the employee's traffic violation point count, and whether the
employee has been convicted of a violation of Section 23152 or 23153.
The report shall be signed and dated by the employer and maintained
at the employer's principal place of business. The report shall be
presented upon demand to an authorized representative of the
Department of the California Highway Patrol during regular business
hours.
(d) Upon the termination of a driver's employment, the employer
shall notify the department to discontinue the driver's enrollment in
the pull-notice system.
(e) For the purposes of the pull-notice system and periodic report
process required by subdivisions (b) and (c), an owner, other than
an owner-operator as defined in Section 34624, and an employer who
drives a vehicle described in subdivision (k) shall be enrolled as if
he or she were an employee. A family member and a volunteer driver
who drives a vehicle described in subdivision (k) shall also be
enrolled as if he or she were an employee.
(f) An employer who, after receiving a driving record pursuant to
this section, employs or continues to employ as a driver a person
against whom a disqualifying action has been taken regarding his or
her driving privilege or required driver's certificate, is guilty of
a public offense, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by
confinement in a county jail for not more than six months, by a fine
of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that
confinement and fine.
(g) As part of its inspection of bus maintenance facilities and
terminals required at least once every 13 months pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 34501, the Department of the California
Highway Patrol shall determine whether each transit operator, as
defined in Section 99210 of the Public Utilities Code, is then in
compliance with this section and Section 12804.6, and shall certify
each operator found to be in compliance. Funds shall not be allocated
pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 99200) of Part 11 of
Division 10 of the Public Utilities Code to a transit operator that
the Department of the California Highway Patrol has not certified
pursuant to this section.
(h) (1) A request to participate in the pull-notice system
established by this section shall be accompanied by a fee determined
by the department to be sufficient to defray the entire actual cost
to the department for the notification service. For the receipt of
subsequent reports, the employer shall also be charged a fee
established by the department pursuant to Section 1811. An employer
who qualifies pursuant to Section 1812 shall be exempt from any fee
required pursuant to this section. Failure to pay the fee shall
result in automatic cancellation of the employer's participation in
the notification services.
(2) A regularly organized fire department, having official
recognition of the city, county, city and county, or district in
which the department is located, shall participate in the pull-notice
program and shall not be subject to the fee established pursuant to
this subdivision.
(3) The Board of Pilot Commissioners for Monterey Bay and the Bays
of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun, and its port agent shall
participate in the pull-notice system established by this section,
subject to Section 1178.5 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, and
shall not be subject to the fees established pursuant to this
subdivision.
(i) The department, as soon as feasible, may establish an
automatic procedure to provide the periodic reports to an employer by
mail or via an electronic delivery method, as required by
subdivision (c), on a regular basis without the need for individual
requests.
(j) (1) The employer of a driver who is employed as a casual
driver is not required to enter that driver's name in the pull-notice
system, as otherwise required by subdivision (a). However, the
employer of a casual driver shall be in possession of a report of the
driver's current public record as recorded by the department, prior
to allowing a casual driver to drive a vehicle specified in
subdivision (k). A report is current if it was issued less than six
months prior to the date the employer employs the driver.
(2) For the purposes of this subdivision, a driver is employed as
a casual driver when the employer has employed the driver less than
30 days during the preceding six months. "Casual driver" does not
include a driver who operates a vehicle that requires a passenger
transportation endorsement.
(k) This section applies to a vehicle for the operation of which
the driver is required to have a class A or class B driver's license,
a class C license with any endorsement issued pursuant to Section
15278, a class C license issued pursuant to Section 12814.7, or a
certificate issued pursuant to Section 12517, 12519, 12520, 12523,
12523.5, or 12527, or a passenger vehicle having a seating capacity
of not more than 10 persons, including the driver, operated for
compensation by a charter-party carrier of passengers or passenger
stage corporation pursuant to a certificate of public convenience and
necessity or a permit issued by the Public Utilities Commission.
(l) This section shall not be construed to change the definition
of "employer," "employee," or "independent contractor" for any
purpose.
(m) A motor carrier who contracts with a person to drive a vehicle
described in subdivision (k) that is owned by, or leased to, that
motor carrier, shall be subject to subdivisions (a), (b), (c), (d),
(f), (j), (k), and (l) and the employer obligations in those
subdivisions.
(n) Reports issued pursuant to this section, but only those for a
driver of a taxicab engaged in transportation services as described
in subdivision (a) of Section 53075.5 of the Government Code, shall
be presented upon request, during regular business hours, to an
authorized representative of the administrative agency responsible
for issuing permits to taxicab transportation services pursuant to
Section 53075.5 of the Government Code.