Working With A Record
Gov. Code 12952 — no conviction question before a conditional offer, then an individualized assessment and five business days to respond
Not before the offer. An employer with five or more employees may not ask about conviction history on an application, or inquire into or consider it, until after making a conditional offer of employment.
Never considered. In a background check, the employer may not consider an arrest not followed by conviction, except as the Labor Code allows, participation in a diversion program, or a conviction that was sealed, dismissed, expunged or pardoned, or is covered by a certificate of rehabilitation.
An individualized assessment. An employer that intends to deny the job because of conviction history assesses whether the history has a direct and adverse relationship with the specific duties of the job, considering the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since the offense and the sentence, and the nature of the job.
Notice and five business days. A preliminary decision is given in writing, with the conviction relied on and any report. The applicant has at least five business days to respond, and five additional business days if disputing the report's accuracy while obtaining evidence. A final denial is in writing, with any procedure to challenge it and the right to file a complaint with the department.
Federal rules on background check reports, and the jobs where a law requires a check, are set out elsewhere and are not on this page. Whether a particular employer followed the law is a question for the state's civil rights or labor agency, or a licensed California attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- Gov. Code 12952 — Employer inquiries into conviction history
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed California attorney.