As your partner in compliance, we wanted to alert you to two recently passed laws that may impact your background screening and hiring processes.
Los Angeles County, California Effective September 3, 2024, Los Angeles County’s new Fair Chance Ordinance (FCO) will require extensive review by impacted employers. The FCO applies to employers with five (5) or more employees regardless of location, including any entity/agent that evaluates criminal history on behalf of an employer, whenever the employee will work within the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County at least two (2) hours on average each week. Both applicants and employees are covered.
At a high-level, the FCO impacts the following areas: • Specific written notice required – content outlined in the FCO could be incorporated into a conditional offer letter, but we recommend consultation with qualified legal counsel before proceeding. • Among other items, convictions that arose out of conduct that has since been decriminalized cannot be considered. • Detailed requirements around pre-adverse and final adverse action notices, along with written individualized assessments. Adverse action notices must be sent by mail and email (if an email address is available). o Similar to California’s statewide law, the notice period begins following a date of receipt period with one key difference. The waiting period cannot begin until the notice is received based on the mailing time period (ex. 5 calendar days for mail sent to CA addresses). • Job advertisements language, posting requirements, record retention obligations are all included in the FCO.
Asurint is currently working on sample pre-adverse and final adverse action letters, while also evaluating any system-required changes to accommodate these unique adverse action requirements. We will share more in the coming weeks.
Lehigh County, Pennsylvania Effective June 1, 2024, employers with any employees in Lehigh County must be aware of a new anti-discrimination ordinance. The ordinance establishes several protected classes and impacts criminal history checks.
Employers cannot ask about criminal history on an employment application or require disclosure of such information until after an initial interview. Employers are prohibited from considering conviction record which do not relate to an applicant’s suitability for employment.
The ordinance also prohibits employers from inquiring into a job applicant’s salary history from any previous or current employment.
Based on the ordinance’s requirements, Asurint does not plan to change any system functionality or sample letters, but we do encourage you to consult with qualified legal counsel.