Los Angeles County “Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers” Takes Effect September 3, 2024

In February 2024, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors adopted the “Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers” to give additional rights, protections, and enforcement mechanisms to job seekers with a criminal history in the unincorporated Los Angeles County, according to a news release from Los Angeles County. The Ordinance takes effect on September 3, 2024.

The Ordinance will complement a California “Ban the Box” law enacted in 2018 called the “Fair Chance Act” which prohibits employers with five or more employees from asking about the conviction history of an applicant before making a job offer and requires them to make an individualized assessment regarding an applicant’s conviction history before rescinding a job offer.

The Ordinance will apply to any private employer that employs five or more employees performing at least two hours of work each week within the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County and authorizes public and private remedies, including civil claims. The Ordinance has many requirements, some of which are outlined in the summary below. Specifically, the Ordinance:

• Prohibits language in job postings that may deter job applicants with criminal histories from applying and all similar materials must include language stating that qualified applicants with criminal histories will be considered for the job.
• Requires employers to post a notice about the Ordinance – which should be made available before it takes effect by the County of Los Angeles – at every workplace and on webpages visited by their employees or applicants.
• Requires that conditional job offers based on a criminal background check must include a list of all “material job duties” of the position for which criminal history may have a “direct, adverse, and negative relationship” for the job offer.
• Prohibits employers from asking candidates directly about their criminal history before extending a conditional job offer and even after the job offer they cannot ask until they first receive the applicant’s criminal background check.
• Restricts the scope of questions about an applicant’s criminal history to seven years from the date of disposition with exceptions for certain roles such as those that require interacting with minors or dependent adults.
• Requires employers to provide a notice to applicants when extending the conditional job offer and before inquiring into their criminal history that indicates the conditional job offer is contingent on passing the criminal history review.
• Requires that the notice contain a specific statement of “good cause” to review criminal history information and if the employer also intends to review information beyond criminal history such as employment and education history.
• Requires a written individualized assessment of an applicant’s criminal history that considers whether the history has a “direct adverse and negative bearing” before adverse action is taken such as rescinding a conditional job offer.
• Requires a “pre-adverse action” notice and individualized assessment before adverse action is taken against an applicant based on their criminal history that informs them of their right to submit evidence of rehabilitation sent by mail and e-mail.
• Requires an “adverse action” notice if an employer decides to take adverse action that includes enclosing a copy of the second individualized assessment and notifying the applicant of the right to submit a complaint for alleged violations.

Through the adoption of the “Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers,” the County of Los Angeles seeks to overcome the stigma and unfair biases associated with individuals with criminal records when employers are making hiring and employment decisions, and to ensure that individuals with criminal histories are provided a fair and equitable opportunity for employment.

Unincorporated Los Angeles County includes more than 2,600 square miles that represent two-thirds of the County’s area and 1 million people living in these areas representing one-tenth of the County’s population, according to statistics from the LA County Planning website. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors acts as the “City Council” in these areas.

Many other “Ban the Box” laws also apply to private employers and usually delay inquiries by them into an applicant’s criminal history until later in the hiring process after a conditional job offer to the applicant. These laws allow applicants to be evaluated based on their knowledge, skills, and abilities rather than being prematurely excluded due to their criminal history. 

“Ban the Box” – which refers to the box on job applications that applicants are asked to check if they have a criminal record – is a nationwide movement in the United States. As of the beginning of 2024, 37 states and more than 150 cities and counties have adopted “Ban the Box” legislation, according to a guide from the National Employment Law Project (NELP).

ClearStar is a global Human Resources technology company specializing in background checks, drug testing, and occupational health screening. ClearStar offers employers in the United States an interactive “Ban the Box” map to help them comply with the growing number of “Ban the Box” laws. To learn more about workforce screening solutions, contact ClearStar.

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Thomas Ahearn - Digital Content Editor

Thomas Ahearn is a Digital Content Editor at ClearStar, a leading Human Resources technology company specializing in background checks, drug testing, and occupational health screening. He writes about a variety of topics in the background screening industry including Artificial Intelligence (AI), "Ban the Box," class action lawsuits, credit reports, criminal records, drug testing, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), identity theft, privacy, social media screening, and workplace violence.

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