April 2023: California Seeks to Ban Criminal Background Checks for Most Private Sector Employers

Update Applicable to:
All private-sector employers in the state of California.

What happened?
On February 17, 2023, two state senators introduced Senate Bill 809 (SB 809) to replace one of California’s primary laws with the “Fair Chance Act of 2023.”

What are the details?
Existing California law regulates inquiries into and using criminal history information in hiring and personnel decisions. Existing California law also substantially impedes the ability of employers (and background check companies) to obtain such information from public records. However, the existing restrictions pale compared to those proposed earlier this year. 

Below are hyperlinks to one of our most trusted sources, Littler, which explains in detail what are the proposed changes:

Section 1

Section 2

Sections 3 and 4

SB 809 is currently pending review by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

For more information, please see the links below:

Senate Bill 809 (SB 809)

Article 1 – Article 2

What do employers need to do?
Employers should be on the lookout for any more news regarding this bill. Vensure will continue to provide more updates once more information has been received.