California’s Civil Rights Department recently entered into settlements with multiple companies over alleged violations of the state’s ban-the-box law, CRD announced December 3. The settlements involved allegations that the companies violated the California Fair Chance Act by improperly rejecting job applicants based on their criminal history.
CRD concluded that the companies violated the Act by:
- Failing to show a direct and adverse relationship between an applicant’s criminal history and the job sought;
- Failing to notify an applicant that the company based the rejection on the applicant’s criminal history;
- Failing to give an applicant the opportunity to submit mitigating information;
- Considering criminal history that was expunged, dismissed, or sealed; and
- Denying an applicant a job because of a seven-year old conviction.
The companies have agreed to pay lost wages and take corrective action. CRD will temporarily monitor these companies for compliance.
CWC maintains a Ban-the-Box state resource to help members stay up to date with various state ban-the-box laws.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, can read more here.