The California Labor Code has been amended to prohibit employers from considering certain juvenile records for employment purposes. Currently, the Labor Code makes it unlawful for an employer to consider information concerning:
- an arrest or detention that did not result in a conviction;
- a referral to or participation in, any pretrial or post-trial diversion program; and
- a conviction that has been judicially dismissed or ordered sealed.
The new bill amends the Labor Code by prohibiting employers from inquiring about and considering information concerning or related to an arrest, detention, process, diversion, supervision, adjudication, or court disposition that occurred while the applicant or employee was subject to the process and jurisdiction of a juvenile court (“juvenile offense history”).
The bill excludes from the Labor Code’s definition of “conviction” an adjudication by a juvenile court or any other court order or action taken with respect to a person who is under the process and jurisdiction of a juvenile court.
Certain other restrictions pertain to health care facilities and the information they are permitted to obtain regarding applicants as to their juvenile offense history.
(AB 1843 Amends Labor Code Section 4327).