On Jan. 22, 2017, the City of Los Angeles deemed it illegal for employers with 10 or more staff to inquire into candidates’ criminal history on job applications. Employers have been given a six-month grace period to comply; as of July 1st, penalties and fines kick in for non-compliant organizations, according to HR Watchdog, CalChamber’s Employment Law Blog.
As part of the City’s Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, not only are employers prohibited from asking about criminal histories on applications (this has been dubbed the “ban the box” measure, in that it removes the check box for criminal histories); companies are also not allowed to speak about such histories until conditional offers of employment have been made.
This law applies to all LA-based companies—regardless of an applicant’s geographic location. For more information on this topic, visit the CalChamber website.