California introduces 'ban the box' law for private companies

It was almost five years ago when California passed ‘ban the box‘ legislation that applied to public state agencies, cities, and counties.

Now, the private sector has followed suit.

California has become the 10th state to require private-sector employers to ‘ban the box’ on employment applications asking about applicants’ criminal conviction histories. with Governor Jerry Brown signing the legislation into law earlier this week.

Around 7 million Californians (nearly 1 in 3 adults) have an arrest or conviction record that can undermine their efforts to obtain employment, according to the bill, AB 1008.

The new law takes effect January 1, 2018 and makes it unlawful for private employers with five or more employees in California to:

• Include on any application for employment, before the employer makes a conditional offer of employment to the applicant, any question that seeks the disclosure of an applicant’s conviction history
• Inquire into or consider the conviction history of the applicant, including any inquiry about conviction history on any employment application, until after the employer has made a conditional offer of employment to the applicant
• Make an individualized assessment of whether the applicant’s conviction history has a direct and adverse relationship with the specific duties of the job that justify denying the applicant the position, should they intend to deny an applicant a position of employment solely or in part because of the applicant’s conviction history

Nationwide, 29 states and over 150 cities and counties have adopted ban-the-box laws. Fifteen major cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, have adopted ‘ban the box‘ hiring laws that cover both public- and private-sector employers.