California to Prohibit Employers from Considering Juvenile Records for Employment Purposes

Written By ESR News Blog Editor Thomas Ahearn

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed legislation taking effect January 1, 2017 – Assembly Bill No. 1843 – that will amend the California Labor Code to prohibit employers from considering certain juvenile records for employment purposes or asking a job applicant to disclose information concerning certain juvenile records occurring while that person was subject to juvenile court law.

The current California Labor Code prohibits private and public sector employers from asking a job applicant to disclose – or use as a factor in determining any condition of employment – information on an arrest or detention that did not result in a conviction, a referral to or participation in any pretrial or post-trial diversion program, and a conviction that has been judicially dismissed or ordered sealed.

Introduced by Assemblymember Mark Stone (D-Scotts Valley), AB 1843 amends the California Labor Code to broaden what data employers may not consider by including “information concerning or related to an arrest, detention, processing, diversion, supervision, adjudication, or court disposition that occurred while the person was subject to the process and jurisdiction of juvenile court law.”

AB 1843 – which would amend Section 432.7 of the Labor Code, relating to employment – would exclude from the definition of “conviction” in the California Labor Code “an adjudication by a juvenile court or any other court order or action taken with respect to a person who is under the process and jurisdiction of a juvenile court, and would make related and conforming changes.”

The bill also prohibits health facility employers from inquiring into events occurring while applicants were subject to juvenile court law, inquiring into an applicant’s juvenile offense history sealed by the juvenile court, and require health facility employers seeking disclosure of a juvenile offense history under an exception to give the applicant a list describing offenses for which disclosure is sought.

California employers using background checks to screen applicants or employees should realize that background checks are performed differently in California than in the other 49 states. Along with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), employers must comply with additional unique rules for background checks in California or else risk up to $10,000 per violation in civil penalties.

Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) – a leading global background check firm located in California – offers information about background checks in California to help employers comply with various laws that include “Ban the Box,” offshsoring, and credit reports. To read ESR News blogs about background checks in California, visit www.esrcheck.com/wordpress/tag/california/.

NOTE: Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) does not provide or offer legal services or legal advice of any kind or nature. Any information on this website is for educational purposes only.

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