Nashville may implement valet employee background screening legislation

The Metro Council of Nashville, Tennessee, is considering an ordinance that would require valet parking companies to enable the Department of Public Works to carry out background checks on their workers, according to The Tennessean. Additionally, all valet businesses that use public roads would need to apply for a $100 annual operating license. The bill - which was recently approved by the Metro Traffic and Parking Commission - now faces a third Metro Council reading. If it passes, the mayor's approval is the final obstacle before it becomes a law. Councilman Ronnie Steine told the news source that he drafted the ordinance in response to valet business owners who requested that their industry be held to higher standards. Many of the city's valet companies already have a background screening system in place due to the nature of the business, as it puts employees in close proximity with customers' possessions. "It won't change the way we do business at all," Tim Wilson, president and CEO of local valet business Parking Management Company, told the news source. The Metro Council recently approved another proposition it was considering - a $1.59 billion financial plan for the next fiscal year that would avoid an increase in property tax for city residents.