Las Vegas Sun
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Unlicensed ‘mystery shoppers’ won’t be snooping in Nevada

06/05/2001 - by GT Staff

Efforts to remove so-called "mystery shoppers" from state licensing provisions were defeated in the Nevada Legislature through the efforts of the Society of Professional Investigators and the support of the AFL-CIO.

Under current law, "mystery shoppers," those investigators who evaluate business conditions and employees by observation of "habits, conduct, honesty, integrity, activity, reputation or character of any person …" must by licensed. Senate Bill 416 would have removed such operators from licensing as private investigators.

"This would not only open the door to unaccountable unlicensed out-of-state mystery-shopping providers, but they would no longer have to produce the investigator or shopping service spotter at any labor board hearing, which is currently required under Nevada law," explained Peter Maheu of Global Intelligence Network.

He noted that present law regulates private investigators through the Private Investigators Licensing Board of the state Attorney General’s Office. The AG believes those firms need to be licensed as private investigators.