California Employers Using Criminal History Face New Compliance Obligations
Aug 15th, 2023 by Pamela Devata & Jennifer Mora @ www.seyfarth.com
For many years, California employers have been subject to the state’s Fair Chance Act, which (in a nutshell) requires employers to:
- wait until after a conditional offer of employment to inquire about or consider criminal history;
- conduct an individualized, job-related assessment before rejecting an applicant due to criminal history; and
- follow a two-step notice process if action is taken based on the criminal history, which is similar, but not identical, to the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s notice requirements (and applicable even if the criminal history was not discovered from a FCRA consumer report (e.g., self-disclosure, internet search, etc.)).