Evaluating candidates with known criminal records in compliance with the California Fair Chance Act (CFCA) poses a challenge for covered employers because the CFCA limits the discretion employers have to rely on such records...more
8/18/2025
/ Background Checks ,
California ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
State Labor Laws
Every day, the press reports on arrests for one reason or another in California and other states. Many of those arrested have jobs. In turn, the employers of the arrestees in California are confronted with a dilemma: on the...more
7/21/2025
/ Arrest ,
California ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Records ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Code ,
State Labor Laws
California state law already saddles private sector employers with significant obligations to job applicants with a criminal record. Various local laws layer on top of these obligations to make compliance even more...more
10/10/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
California ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
OLSE
Starting in January 2025, California’s Fair Employment & Housing Act (FEHA) will prohibit employers from including a statement in a job advertisement, posting, application, or other material that an applicant must have a...more
In 2016, the City of Los Angeles enacted a detailed fair chance hiring ordinance. A comprehensive statewide law followed in 2017. Soon, employers with jobs located in the unincorporated areas of the County of Los...more
3/13/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Ban the Box ,
California ,
City of Los Angeles ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Ads ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Screening Procedures ,
Undue Burden
Companies that hire employees and engage independent contractors in California should brace themselves for an even greater slowdown in background checks that include criminal record searches in Los Angeles County. This will...more
Two new laws will take effect next year that restrict how employers may respond to worker off-duty cannabis use. One law will restrict employers’ ability to ask about prior cannabis use in the hiring process, and the other...more
10/27/2023
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
California ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Drug Testing ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
Recreational Use ,
State Labor Laws
The California Civil Rights Council previously issued draft revisions to the Fair Employment and Housing Act’s regulations governing inquiries into and consideration of a job applicant’s criminal history in making hiring...more
8/2/2023
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
California ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
FEHA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Reform ,
State Labor Laws
Existing California law regulates inquiries into and the use of criminal history information in hiring and personnel decisions. Existing California law also substantially impedes the ability of employers (and background...more
3/27/2023
/ Ban the Box ,
California ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Chance Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Reform ,
Pending Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State Labor Laws
A May 2021 court decision in California, All of Us or None v. Hamrick, caused significant background check delays in some California county courts and left background check companies unable to report some criminal record...more
Background check industry groups have mounted a full-court press to remedy the recent slowdown in criminal record searches in California state courts caused by last year’s court of appeal decision in All of Us or None v....more
3/21/2022
/ California ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Reform ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State Labor Laws