TL;DR / Key Takeaway
The Los Angeles Fair Chance Ordinance (FCO) imposes stricter criminal history screening requirements than California’s statewide Fair Chance Act, applying to employers with 10+ employees operating within Los Angeles city limits. If your organization hires in LA, you need a documented, multi-step process for individualized assessments, written notices, and a mandatory waiting period before rescinding any offer based on criminal history. Non-compliance carries penalties up to $2,000 per violation, and the ordinance’s private right of action means your exposure isn’t limited to city enforcement.
What HR Teams Need to Know
The Los Angeles Fair Chance Ordinance for Initial Hire, sometimes called the “Ban the Box” law, restricts when and how you can consider a candidate’s criminal history during the hiring process. It layers additional obligations on top of California’s statewide Fair Chance Act (Government Code Section 12952), creating a compliance environment that’s more procedurally demanding than most jurisdictions your talent acquisition team may operate in.
This matters because Los Angeles is one of the largest labor markets in the country, and many multi-state employers underestimate how much local ordinances can diverge from state and federal baselines. The FCRA governs how you obtain and use consumer reports, but it says nothing about when in your hiring sequence you’re permitted to ask about or act on criminal history. That’s where the LA Fair Chance Ordinance fills the gap — and where most compliance gaps actually occur.
If your applicant tracking system triggers criminal history questions before a conditional offer, or your hiring managers verbally ask about convictions during phone screens, you are likely out of compliance regardless of what your written policy says. The ordinance regulates behavior at the point of hiring decisions, not just paperwork.
Detailed Analysis
Who the Ordinance Covers
The FCO applies to any employer — regardless of where headquartered — with 10 or more employees who employs at least one person within the geographic boundaries of the City of Los Angeles. This includes:
- Direct employers
- Job placement and staffing agencies
- Client employers who use staffing agencies (both entities share liability)
- Employers with remote workers based in LA
City contractors and subcontractors face additional obligations, including mandatory posting requirements at each job site, regardless of size.
The Sequencing Requirement
The core mechanic of the ordinance is sequencing. You cannot inquire about, or require disclosure of, criminal history until after you’ve extended a conditional offer of employment. This is stricter in practice than it sounds, because “inquiry” includes:
- Job postings that state criminal history will disqualify applicants
- Interview questions about arrests or convictions
- Background check authorization forms sent before an offer
- Informal conversations during phone screens
| Hiring Stage | Permitted Criminal History Activity |
|---|---|
| Job posting | None — no exclusionary language permitted |
| Application | None — no criminal history questions |
| Interview | None |
| Conditional offer extended | Now you may run the background check |
| Post-offer, pre-adverse action | Individualized assessment required if criminal history found |
| Adverse action | Must follow FCRA + LA-specific notice and waiting period |
The Individualized Assessment
If a background check returns criminal history that could disqualify the candidate, you cannot simply revoke the offer. You must conduct a written individualized assessment evaluating:
1. The nature and seriousness of the offense
2. The time that has elapsed since the offense
3. The nature of the job held or sought
This assessment must be documented — not just performed mentally by a hiring manager. Your legal team should treat this as a discoverable record if the applicant later challenges the decision.
The Fair Chance Process Notice
Before taking adverse action, you must provide the applicant with:
- A copy of the background check report
- A written notice identifying the specific conviction(s) at issue
- A copy of your individualized assessment
- At least five business days to respond with mitigating information, evidence of rehabilitation, or evidence of inaccuracy
If the applicant responds within that window, you must consider the new information and conduct a second individualized assessment before finalizing any adverse action. This second-look requirement is where LA’s ordinance diverges most sharply from a standard FCRA adverse action process, which typically contemplates only one round of dispute resolution.
Compliance Considerations
Interaction with the FCRA
Your FCRA obligations run in parallel with, not in place of, the LA ordinance. You still need:
- A standalone disclosure and authorization form
- Pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report and summary of rights
- A reasonable waiting period before final adverse action
- Post-adverse action notice
The LA ordinance’s five-business-day response window and individualized assessment requirements stack on top of these federal steps. Many employers mistakenly assume their FCRA-compliant adverse action workflow already satisfies local law — it doesn’t.
Interaction with California’s Statewide Fair Chance Act
Where the city ordinance and state law overlap, the more protective standard controls. Practical differences include:
| Requirement | California Fair Chance Act | LA Fair Chance Ordinance |
|---|---|---|
| Covered employer size | 5+ employees | 10+ employees |
| Response window after notice | 5 business days | 5 business days |
| Individualized assessment | Required | Required, with more detailed documentation standard |
| Second assessment after applicant response | Not explicitly required | Required |
| Private right of action | No (DFEH enforcement only) | Yes |
| Job posting restrictions | Yes | Yes, with specific required language |
Private Right of Action Risk
Unlike many local fair chance ordinances that rely solely on administrative enforcement, the LA FCO allows individuals to bring civil suits for violations, in addition to enforcement by the city’s Department of Public Works, Bureau of Contract Administration. This materially changes your risk calculus — a pattern of sequencing violations across your recruiting team isn’t just a regulatory exposure, it’s class-action-shaped.
Job Posting Compliance
Your job postings for LA-based roles must include specific required language notifying applicants that you will consider qualified candidates with criminal histories in accordance with applicable law. Generic EEO boilerplate does not satisfy this requirement. Audit your careers page and job board templates specifically for LA-tagged requisitions.
Recordkeeping
Retain all individualized assessments, notices, and applicant responses for a minimum of three years, consistent with recommended FCRA recordkeeping practices and sufficient to defend against both city enforcement actions and private litigation.
Action Steps for Your Team
Quick wins (implement within 30 days):
- Audit job postings tagged to LA locations for required fair chance language and remove any criminal history exclusion statements.
- Remove criminal history questions from applications and applicant tracking system intake forms for LA requisitions.
- Retrain hiring managers and recruiters on prohibited pre-offer inquiries — this is your highest-frequency violation point.
Medium-term (60-90 days):
- Build a standardized individualized assessment template that your HR or compliance team completes for every LA candidate with reportable criminal history.
- Update your adverse action workflow in your background check platform or ATS to insert the five-business-day LA response window and second-assessment step before finalizing rescissions.
- Designate an ownership role — typically your HR compliance manager or a dedicated talent acquisition compliance lead — responsible for reviewing every LA adverse action decision before it’s communicated.
Longer-term (ongoing):
- Conduct semi-annual audits of your LA hiring pipeline data to identify sequencing violations before they surface in litigation.
- Align your background check vendor’s workflow so pre-adverse and adverse action notices are automatically formatted to include the LA-required elements alongside standard FCRA language.
- Loop in employment counsel whenever the individualized assessment reveals a close call — documented legal input strengthens your defensibility.
FAQ
Does the LA Fair Chance Ordinance apply to remote employees who live in Los Angeles but work for an out-of-state company?
Yes, if the employee performs work within the City of Los Angeles and your organization meets the 10-employee threshold, the ordinance applies regardless of where your headquarters or HR function is located. Employers frequently miss this when remote hiring expanded their footprint into new jurisdictions.
Can we still ask about criminal history for positions requiring specific licensure, such as healthcare or financial services roles?
Certain state and federal licensing requirements may create narrow exceptions, but you should not assume a blanket exemption. Consult employment counsel to confirm whether your specific role and industry regulation (such as CMS or FINRA requirements) qualifies before deviating from standard sequencing.
What happens if a staffing agency conducts the background check but our company makes the final hiring decision?
Both the staffing agency and your organization as the client employer can be held liable under the ordinance. Your vendor management process should confirm the staffing agency’s fair chance compliance practices in writing before you rely on their screening workflow.
How is the five-business-day response window calculated?
The clock starts when the applicant receives your written notice, and business days exclude weekends and holidays. Best practice is to use certified mail or a tracked electronic delivery method so you can document the exact notice date if challenged.
Do we need a separate individualized assessment for every applicant, or can we use a standardized decision matrix?
You need a documented, individualized assessment for each applicant — a rigid matrix that doesn’t account for job-specific and offense-specific nuance will not satisfy the requirement. A structured template that guides the same three statutory factors for every case is compliant and efficient, but the analysis itself must be case-specific.
Conclusion
The Los Angeles Fair Chance Ordinance demands more from your hiring workflow than a policy update — it requires structural changes to when your team asks about criminal history, how you document individualized assessments, and how your adverse action process handles a second round of applicant responses. Employers who treat this as a checkbox on top of their existing FCRA process, rather than a distinct sequencing and documentation obligation, are the ones who end up facing private lawsuits and city penalties.
BackgroundChecker.com helps HR teams run FCRA-compliant background checks with workflows configured for local ordinances like LA’s Fair Chance requirements, including adverse action automation that builds in the correct notice periods and documentation trail. Whether you’re screening 10 hires or 10,000 across multiple jurisdictions, our platform, dedicated account management, and ATS/HRIS integrations scale with your compliance program. Request a demo or start screening today to see how your LA hiring workflow can be brought into alignment without adding manual burden to your recruiting team.
This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Consult qualified legal counsel for compliance guidance specific to your organization.
