Under 2018 amendments, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance (FCO) requires employers to follow strict rules regarding applicants’ and employees’ arrest and conviction record(s) and related information.  Employers with 5 or more employees (total worldwide) and City contractors had obligations and prohibitions on considering the criminal history of an applicant.  Additional information about the FCO is available from the city’s website.

As noted in a Seyfarth blog, the mandatory FCO notice has been updated.  The blog notes that “while the substance [of the updated notice] is consistent with prior versions…, the latest version has resulted in a much shorter ‘official’ notice.”

The Fair Chance Ordinance (FCO) prohibits covered employers from asking about arrest or conviction records until after a conditional offer of employment.  The FCO also prohibits covered employers from ever considering the following:

  • An arrest not leading to a conviction, except for unresolved arrests.
  • Participation in a diversion or deferral of judgment program.
  • A conviction that has been dismissed, expunged, otherwise invalidated, or inoperative.
  • A conviction in the juvenile justice system.
  • An offense other than a felony or misdemeanor, such as an infraction.
  • A conviction that is more than 7 years old (unless the position being considered supervises minors or dependent adults).
  • A conviction for decriminalized conduct, including the non-commercial use and cultivation of cannabis.