The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) recently settled with several California employers – Amazon, Ikea, Kohl’s, the Los Angeles Dodgers, The Citizen Hotel, and MPIJet – over alleged violations of the state’s Fair Chance Act.  

Individual complaints filed with the CRD in 2023 allege each of the companies unlawfully rejected otherwise qualified job applicants and failed to comply with the requirements of the Fair Chance Act. Specifically, the companies either failed to follow legally required hiring processes — such as obtaining criminal history information unlawfully through a criminal history questionnaire — or denied employment opportunities over unrelated or even decades-old criminal history information. In each instance, the companies also allegedly failed to consider the gravity of the offense, the time that had passed, and how the offense related to the actual job being sought.  

The purpose of the Fair Chance Act is to reduce barriers to employment that can prevent people with past arrests or convictions from successfully reintegrating into their communities. More broadly, the Fair Chance Act bars most employers from asking about a job applicant’s criminal history before making a job offer and limits convictions that employers can use to disqualify someone to those that have a direct and harmful relationship with the job. For instance, advertisements with statements like ‘No Felons’ or ‘Must Have Clean Record’ violate the law’s protections. In passing the Fair Chance Act, the Legislature recognized that nearly one in three adults in the state has an arrest or conviction that can significantly undermine their efforts to get a job.  

CRD’s Ongoing Fair Chance Act Focus 

This latest round of settlements evidences the CRD’s ongoing commitment to challenging employer hiring practices that run afoul of Fair Chance Act prohibitions. The CRD is also taking proactive steps to challenge unlawful online job advertisements that violate the Fair Chance Act.  

Employers can gain valuable insight into the CRD’s compliance focus by noting the corrective actions included in the settlement agreements between CRD and the various companies. Depending on the specific harms alleged, the following corrective actions were imposed: 

• Conducting individualized assessments of job applicants’ criminal history information prior to an adverse employment action. 

• Esuring convictions that have been sealed, dismissed, or expunged are not considered in connection with any application for employment. 

• Providing written notice to applicants with specific information indicating if an offense is considered disqualifying and how to respond with evidence of rehabilitation.i 

A few additional key points to consider: 

• Audit current onboarding practices. As noted here, changes to the Fair Chance Act in 2023 concerning notice, individualized assessment, reassessment, and revocation notice practices make it imperative that qualified employers audit current hiring practices to assure compliance. 

• Create a checklist to ensure compliance with updated processes, timeframes and notice requirements. Provide a copy of the checklist to all hiring managers along with additional training to ensure understanding.