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Criminal History and Hiring in California
California’s fair-chance rules decide when a conviction can be considered, and what notice the applicant must receive before a job offer is pulled.
General education for California employees—not legal advice. Your facts and deadlines control. This is not a Workplace Rights Advocacy case result. It explains the Civil Rights Department workplace notice in plain English. It is not the poster and it is not a complete statement of every exception.
Before a conditional offer
Government Code § 12952 makes it unlawful for an employer with five or more employees to put a conviction-history question on an application, or to inquire into or consider conviction history, before a conditional offer of employment. The employer also cannot consider arrests that did not lead to a conviction, except in narrow health-facility situations the Labor Code still allows; referrals to diversion programs; or convictions that were sealed, dismissed, expunged, pardoned, or covered by a certificate of rehabilitation.
After an offer
If the employer intends to deny the job solely or partly because of conviction history, it must make an individualized assessment of whether the conviction has a direct and adverse relationship to the specific duties. The assessment considers the nature and gravity of the offense, the time that has passed since the offense and completion of the sentence, and the nature of the job.
A preliminary decision to rescind the offer has to be in writing. It must identify the conviction, include a copy of any conviction-history report, and explain the right to respond. The applicant gets at least five business days. If the applicant disputes the report’s accuracy and is getting evidence, the applicant gets five more business days. The employer must consider that response. A final denial must be in writing and must tell the applicant about any internal challenge process and the right to file a complaint with the Civil Rights Department.
Exceptions
The statute does not apply to positions a state or local agency must background-check by law, positions in a criminal justice agency, Farm Labor Contractor positions, or jobs where a state, federal, or local law requires the check or restricts employment based on criminal history. Cities and counties can impose stricter local rules. Those ordinances are in addition to FEHA, not a substitute for it.
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