By: Andrew J. Sommer and Daniel C. Deacon

California has had yet another banner year closing the 2017 legislative session with a spate of new employment laws imposing additional compliance obligations on employers.  Bucking the anti-regulatory tide in Washington, DC, California has passed dozens of new laws impacting both private and public sector employers.  Overall, Governor Jerry Brown has vetoed just over 12% of the bills passed by the California legislature this year.

Conn Maciel Carey LLP provides this summary of key new employment bills, regulations and local ordinances impacting California private sector employers.  Unless otherwise indicated, these new employment laws take effect January 1, 2018.

 Statewide “Ban the Box” Law

Continuing a national trend at the state and municipal level, California has passed Assembly Bill (AB) 1008, a statewide “ban the box” law limiting any inquiry into an applicant’s criminal history.  AB 1008 applies to employers with five or more employees, and is markedly different from San Francisco’s “ban the box” ordinance.

The statewide law makes it unlawful for an employer to inquire into or consider an applicant’s criminal history, including seeking such information on any job application, before the employer has made a conditional offer of employment.  In addition, an employer that intends to deny an applicant a position solely, or in part, because of the applicant’s conviction history ascertained after the conditional job offer has been extended must make an individualized assessment of whether the applicant’s conviction history has a “direct and adverse relationship” with the specific duties of the applied for position.  In making this assessment, the employer must consider:  (1) the nature and gravity of the offense or conduct; (2) the time that has passed since the offense or conduct and/or completion of the sentence; and (3) the nature of the job held or sought.

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