§ 78-183. Employee permit; qualifications of employees.

(a)

No person shall be employed by a pawnshop in any capacity who is not at least 18 years of age, a citizen of the United States or an alien admitted for permanent residence or a person who has otherwise been granted employment authorization by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service and until such person has been issued a permit by the county police permit unit, authorizing such person to be employed by a pawnshop. Such permit shall not be issued to any person who has been convicted of a felony, unless ten years have expired from the date of completion of the felony sentence. No permit shall be issued to anyone who has been convicted within five years immediately prior to the filing of the application for employment, of any misdemeanor involving theft, burglary, crimes against property, or controlled substances. For purposes of this section, the term "conviction" shall mean any adjudication of guilt, or plea of guilty or nolo contendere. No permit shall be issued so long as there are outstanding criminal warrants, criminal charges, accusations or indictments for any of the crimes enumerated in this section on which there has been no final disposition or adjudication, and any application involving such pending charges shall be held for final decision until final disposition or adjudication of the charges. No permit for employment in a pawnshop that deals in firearms shall be issued to any convicted felon, unless the applicant's right to possess firearms has been verifiably reinstated in the jurisdiction where the conviction occurred.

(b)

For whom required. It is the responsibility of the business licensee and/or designee as stated in subsection 78-201(b) to ensure that the employees required under this Code section obtain and possess the required work permit prior to working. Failure of an employee to possess a work permit shall be unlawful and will subject the employee and licensee and/or designee to prosecution as provided in this chapter.

(c)

Application, issuance, denial. Except as otherwise provided, no person requiring a work permit may be employed by an establishment holding a license under this chapter until such person has been issued a work permit from the county police department indicating the person is eligible for employment. The work permit is valid for employment at one business only. The permit may be transferred to another business location, without approval, provided that the ownership of the business is the same as the previous location. If the ownership of the business is different, the person with the work permit must apply and be approved by the county police department in order for the work permit to be valid. All applications required by this section shall be investigated by the police department to include, among other things, an investigation of the criminal record, if any, of the applicant. Any applicant who is denied a work permit shall have the right to appeal such decision to the license review board. Appeals to the county license review board regarding the denial of a work permit must be filed with the county business license division within 30 days of the denial. In addition, after the hearing, the license review board may recommend to the board of commissioners approval of a work permit to an employee whose application was originally denied upon any conditions deemed appropriate by the license review board. Denied applicants that fail to file a timely appeal shall not be authorized to reapply for a work permit for 12 months from the date of the denial.

(d)

Time limit. All persons subject to the provisions of this section shall, prior to the date of their first work in a licensed establishment, make application for a work permit to the county police department.

(e)

Permit term; prescribing fee. Any permit for employment issued under this section shall expire 12 months from the date of issuance unless earlier suspended or revoked as provided in this section. The police department may prescribe regulations for certifying the eligibility for continued employment without the necessity of the employee's being fingerprinted and may prescribe reasonable fees for certifying the eligibility for employment.

(f)

Possession of permits by employees. Employees holding permits issued pursuant to this section shall at all times during their working hours have the permits available for inspection at the premises.

(g)

Grounds for suspension, revocation, probation. No permit which has been issued or which may hereafter be issued under this section shall be suspended, revoked or placed on probation except for due cause as defined in this subsection, and after a hearing and upon written notice to the holder of such permit of the time, place and purpose of such hearing and a statement of the charge or charges upon which such hearing shall be held. A minimum of three days' notice shall be provided to the applicant or permit holder. "Due cause" for the suspension or revocation of the permit shall consist of the omission or falsification of any material in any application; or for any reason which would authorize the refusal of the issuance of a permit; or any violation of this chapter. All hearings shall be before the license review board. After the hearing if the license review board determines due cause exists, the license review board may recommend to the board of commissioners to suspend, revoke or place on probation for a maximum of 12 months, with or without conditions, the permit. The board of commissioners shall, within 60 days of the license review board's recommendation, review a summary of the appeal or show cause hearing before the license review board wherein the work permit was considered for issuance, suspension or revocation (the summary shall be prepared by the business license division manager) and the board of commissioners after such review will either concur with recommendations of the license review board or choose to place the matter down for a hearing. Should the board of commissioners place the matter down for hearing the board of commissioners, after such hearing, may issue or deny the work permit, suspend or revoke the work permit or place the employee on probation. After the board of commissioners meeting, the representative of the business license office will notify the county police department permits unit of the decision. If the permit was approved for issuance by the board of commissioners, the county police department permits unit will notify the applicant that the permit has been approved. The employee whose work permit was not issued or whose work permit was denied, probated, suspended or revoked may appeal the board of commissioners. The decision of the board of commissioners may be appealed by filing a petition for writ of certiorari to the Superior Court of Cobb County within 30 days of the decision of the board of commissioners.

(h)

Notwithstanding any of the provisions in this section, any permits issued through administrative error or an error in the completion of a background investigation may be terminated by the director of public safety or his/her designee.

(Ord. of 10-25-94; Code 1977, § 3-7-130; Ord. of 6-23-98 (eff. 7-1-98); Ord. of 7-23-13; Amd. of 7-26-16)