California Laws on Employer Use of Arrest Records

If you’re among the estimated 1 in 4 American people having a criminal record, you may experience difficulties when searching or trying to secure a job. Basically, research has proved that a large portion of employers, to be precise 92 percent of them perform a thorough check up to determine if the employment applicants are facing or have faced any criminal charges before considering them.

In case a prospective employer figures out that you’ve got a conviction or arrest record, you may find it hard to compete, most especially in the recent tight job market. However, the better side of it is that in the state of California there are some legal rights meant to protect job seekers who have criminal records.

State and federal laws have placed some limits on how an employer can make use of the criminal records of a job seeker before finally deciding whether to consider the person or not.

Legal Protections for Job Seekers with Criminal Records in California

State laws in some cases offer protection rights for job seekers who have criminal records. The state of California has placed more restrictions on the employers when compared with other states in the US. For instance, employers in California are not entitled to ask job applicants about:

*Certain Marijuana Offenses:-

Employers are not allowed to ask applicants about marijuana convictions that are considered minor and which are more than 24 months old.

*Sealed Records:-

Employers are prohibited also from asking about convictions which have been statutorily eradicated, expunged or sealed.

*Diversion Programs:-

Employers in some scenarios are not entitled to ask about an applicant’s referral to participation in a post- trial or pretrial diversion program.

*Arrest Records:-

An employer is also not supposed to ask applicants about prior arrests which did not lead to conviction.

Federal Protections for an Applicant with Criminal Records

The FCRA i.e. Fair Credit Reporting Act impose obligations on employers which request background checks on criminal records and on the companies which offer them. Employers are required to do the following;

*Get applicant’s written consent on time

*Tell the job applicant if he or she intends in any way to disqualify him/ her based on content of the report. The employer should also ensure that he or she gives the job seeker several copies of the report.

These are only a few facts of what you need to know about California laws on employer use of Arrest records. For more information about the subject of interest, contact us.