A. The director may obtain criminal history record information regarding applicants for employment for the purpose of hiring personnel. Before making a final offer of employment, the director shall require the preferred applicants to submit a full set of fingerprints. The director shall submit the fingerprints to the department of public safety for the purpose of obtaining a state and federal criminal records check pursuant to section 41-1750 and Public Law 92-544. The department of public safety may exchange this fingerprint data with the federal bureau of investigation. The department of transportation shall not disclose information obtained pursuant to this subsection except to members of the department’s staff solely for employment purposes. An applicant shall not be disqualified from employment under this subsection except in accordance with section 13-904, subsection E.

B. The director may obtain consumer report information regarding applicants for employment for the purpose of hiring personnel. Information obtained may only be used to determine the suitability of the applicant for positions involving fiduciary or financial responsibilities, the issuance of driver licenses or other personal identification documents or access to highly confidential information. Consumer report information may be obtained and used only in accordance with the fair credit reporting act (15 United States Code §§ 1681 through 1681x). An applicant shall not be disqualified from employment under this subsection unless the consumer report information relied on for the disqualification has a reasonable relationship to the functions of the position.

C. For the purposes of this section, "applicant" means any person who seeks employment as a new hire or any employee of the department who seeks a transfer, a reclassification or a reassignment to a different position.