| Entities | |
| Topics and Issues | Background checks (71) Employment Screening (20) |
In 2023, Congress passed Sami’s Law, a law intended to promote safety in rideshare vehicles. The law is Pub. L. 117-330. Among other things, the law requires the GAO to study “…the nature and specifics of any background checks conducted on prospective TNC drivers and drivers of other forhire vehicles (including taxicabs), including any State and local laws requiring those background checks…”
An early adopter of Sami’s Law was New Jersey. In 2019, the state passed legislation to enhance safety for rideshare passengers by requiring additional identification for drivers. The bill’s passage and signing follows the tragic death of Samantha “Sami” Josephson, a Robbinsville resident and student at the University of South Carolina, who mistakenly entered a car she thought was her rideshare. That law is Ch. 138, Laws 2019. There are no provisions for background checks in that law. New Jersey and nearly every other state have laws permitting transportation network companies to operate. Those laws are similar to the New Jersey law in Sec. 39:5H-17 (criminal background checks for drivers)
The federal legislation was first introduced in Congress in 2019 by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (D-NJ). Smith was the sponsor when the bill passed in the 117th Congress, H.R. 1082.