California’s prohibition on seeking and relying upon job applicant’s criminal histories starting January 1, 2018

Effective January 1, 2018 California employers can no longer ask an applicant for employment to disclose information about criminal convictions.  The new law (added as Section 12952 to the Government Code) applies to employers with 5 or more employees.  Once an offer of employment has been made, employers can conduct criminal history background checks, but only when the conviction history has a “direct and adverse relationship with the specific duties of the job,” and requires certain disclosures to the applicant if employment is denied based on the background check.  This Friday’s Five covers five areas of the new law that California employers should be aware of when hiring employees: