San Diego recently enacted its new Fair Chance Ordinance, which introduced new requirements to the employment screening process. This new ordinance is similar to the recently enacted Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance.

According to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, it only applies to employers in the unincorporated parts of the county. San Diego County’s Fair Chance Ordinance requires employers to consider how an individual’s criminal history relates to the desired position. However, the regulation appears less stringent than its neighbor’s. It will require relatively minimal obligations beyond those employers currently comply with under state law.

However, employers should still look into the updated ordinances and review their employment screening policies. They must ensure compliance with all local, state, and federal regulations. This Fair Chance Ordinance applies to any employer with five or more employees within the unincorporated parts of the county. According to the Fair Chance Ordinance, this includes any entity that evaluates the criminal history of either applicants or employees on behalf of an employer. As such, third parties hired by employers must also comply with San Diego’s Fair Chance Ordinance.

The ordinance defines an applicant as “any individual applying for employment, transfer, or promotion whose employment position involves performing at least two (2) hours of work on average each week within the unincorporated areas of the County.” Employment itself includes “any work provided in furtherance of an Employer’s business enterprise within the unincorporated areas of the County.” One example counted remote work within a location in the county’s unincorporated parts.

This ordinance bars several actions, including:

  • Limitations related to convictions or arrests in any job listing;
  • Any application for employment, transfer, or promotion and similar forms of documentation or requests for criminal history information prior to issuing a conditional offer of employment;
  • Any adverse action against any individual based on criminal history prior to issuing a conditional offer of employment or
  • Performing a background check inquiring about or considering arrests not followed by conviction (except as required by law) or “convictions that have been sealed, dismissed, expunged, or statutorily eradicated pursuant to law, or any conviction for which the convicted person has received a full pardon or has been issued a certificate of rehabilitation.”

With these regulations now in effect, employers should act quickly to ensure that their policies and procedures remain compliant. One of the best ways to get started is by working with an informed and experienced provider of employment screening services.

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