Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers (2026): the seven-year limit, notices and two assessments

Los Angeles County's Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, Chapter 8.300 of the County Code, has applied since September 3, 2024 to employers with five or more employees anywhere, for jobs that involve at least two hours of work a week in the unincorporated areas of the county. It bars criminal history questions before a conditional offer, requires a written notice of intent before a background check, bars considering most convictions older than seven years, and requires two written individualized assessments with at least five business days, plus ten more on request, for the candidate to respond. As of November 2026 the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA) enforces it, with penalties of up to $5,000, $10,000 and $20,000 per aggrieved person. It does not apply inside the City of Los Angeles or any other city.

What is the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers?

The Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance No. 2024-0012 on February 27, 2024. It added Division 6, Worker Protections, and Chapter 8.300 to Title 8 of the County Code, and became operative at 12:01 a.m. on September 3, 2024 (8.300.130). The DCBA's Office of Labor Equity enforces it and publishes the FAQ, poster and sample notices on its Fair Chance page.

Who does it cover?

• Employers. Anyone "located or doing business in the unincorporated areas" that "employs five (5) or more Employees regardless of location." The definition includes "job placement, temporary agency, referral agencies and other employment agencies," nonprofits, and "any entity that evaluates an Applicant's or Employee's Criminal History on behalf of an Employer" (8.300.040(P)). Government employers are excluded.
• Employees and jobs. A position that involves, or will involve, at least two hours of work a week on average in the unincorporated areas (8.300.040(O)), including temporary, part-time, contract, freelance and agency work, and "when a person is working remotely, teleworking or telecommuting" from there (8.300.040(Q)). Rule 3.0 measures the average over the 26 weeks before a complaint.
• Current employees. Adverse actions include denied promotions, discipline, reassignment and termination due to criminal history, not only withdrawn offers (8.300.040(A)).
• Where. Unincorporated areas are governed by the Board of Supervisors rather than a city; the FAQ points to lacounty.gov/muas to check an address. The City of Los Angeles has its own rules: see Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.

Exceptions

Section 8.300.050(H) lifts the posting statement and duties list, the pre-offer ban, the notice of intent, the no-questions-before-the-report rule and the never-consider list (subsections B(1) and (4), C, D, E and F) for positions where the employer is required by law to run a check or restrict hiring, where a law bars employing someone with a specific history, where the job requires a firearm, for farm labor contractors, and for positions in a government program for people with records or seeking "lived experience" in the justice system. Even then the two assessments and both notices still apply to every position.

What must job postings and the workplace notice say?

Section 8.300.050(B) sets four rules for every solicitation, bulletin, posting and advertisement:

1. Include a statement that "qualified Applicants with arrest or Conviction records will be considered for Employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act."
2. No "No Felons," "No Convictions," "Must Have Clean Background" or "Must Pass Background Check." "Background Check Required" is allowed.
3. If a law restricts hiring people with certain records for the job, name every such law in the posting.
4. If the employer intends to review criminal history with the conditional offer, list "all material job duties" it reasonably believes a record "may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship" with.

Section 8.300.070 requires the County's notice at every workplace in the unincorporated areas, on "website pages frequently visited by their Employees or Applicants," and sent to any union, in English and any language spoken by at least 10 percent of the workforce. The DCBA posts the official notice in English and Spanish.

When can an employer ask about criminal history?

• Before the offer: not at all. No inquiry "by any means," no encouraging voluntary disclosure, and no ending an interview or rejecting someone because of information they offered early or declined to give (8.300.050(C)). "Inquire" includes internet searches; it excludes a posting seeking "lived experience" and an IRS Form 8850 used only for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (8.300.040(T)).
• With the offer: a Notice of Intent. If the employer will review criminal history, it must tell the candidate in writing that the offer is contingent on that review, give "good cause" with written justification (a significant risk to the business or its reputation, or articulable safety concerns for staff, customers or the public; "safety concerns" alone is not enough), and list every other check it will run, such as education, social media, driving, credit or drug testing (8.300.050(D)). The DCBA has a sample notice of intent.
• After the offer, before the report: no questionnaires. The employer may not ask about the record until it has the report, and must give the candidate a copy before discussing it (8.300.050(E)).
• Slow reports. A delay in receiving the report is not a reason to withdraw unless holding the job is an undue burden and ten business days have passed since the request, explained in the preliminary notice (8.300.050(G)(3)).

What can an employer never consider?

Section 8.300.050(F) bars asking about or acting on, at any time:

• an arrest not followed by conviction, except as Labor Code 432.7 allows (an unresolved arrest pending trial may be asked about);
• diversion or deferred judgment;
• sealed, dismissed, expunged or pardoned convictions, or those covered by a certificate of rehabilitation;
• juvenile matters, and non-felony marijuana possession convictions two or more years old;
• convictions more than seven years old from the date of disposition, except for jobs with care of or authority over minors, dependent adults or people 65 or older, and public funds or benefits jobs where the conviction involves fraud, theft or similar conduct;
• infractions, unless driving is more than a minor part of the job, and decriminalized conduct.

What must happen before an offer is withdrawn?

1. Initial Individualized Assessment, in writing, of whether the record has "a direct, adverse and negative bearing" on the duties, considering the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since it, the nature of the job, and any rehabilitation evidence offered (8.300.050(G)). A required license the candidate already holds creates a presumption that the record is not job-related, which the assessment must rebut.
2. Preliminary Notice of Adverse Action by regular mail and email: the intended action, the right to respond with the deadlines in bold, underlined or capital letters, a copy of the assessment, the disqualifying convictions, and a copy of the report and anything else relied on, including "internet searches, court records, news articles, and/or social media content" (8.300.050(I)(1)).
3. Response window. At least five business days; at least ten more if the candidate says in writing that they dispute the record or need time for evidence. On request within five business days, the candidate may present evidence orally, in a meeting within ten business days. The job may not be filled meanwhile (8.300.050(I)(2), (3)).
4. Delivery dates. Untracked mail counts as received five calendar days after mailing to a California address, ten elsewhere in the U.S., 20 abroad; email two business days after sending, but response deadlines run from the mailing date (8.300.060).
5. Second Individualized Assessment, in writing, using the same factors plus everything the candidate sent, written or oral (8.300.050(J)).
6. Final Notice of Adverse Action by mail and email: the decision, a copy of the second assessment, the convictions relied on, any reconsideration process, and the right to complain to the DCBA and the state Civil Rights Department. Sending it more than 30 calendar days after a timely response is presumed late unless explained (8.300.050(K)).
7. Records for four years from receipt of the application, including ads, assessments, notices and correspondence (8.300.080).

The DCBA's sample preliminary notice, initial and second assessment forms and final notice follow these steps. The County wrote its assessment factors into the ordinance, so the EEOC's October 28, 2026 rescission of its 2012 guidance does not change them.

How does it fit with California law and the FCRA?

California's Fair Chance Act also applies to these jobs, with a five business day response period and five more when the candidate disputes the record, as our California ban-the-box page explains. The County ordinance sets minimum protections and does not limit laws that give more (8.300.120(A)), and it may not be applied in conflict with state or federal law (8.300.120(B)). In practice the County rules are the longer and stricter set: two assessments, ten extra business days, the seven-year limit whoever supplies the record, and mail plus email delivery. If a screening company runs the check, the FCRA steps in our FCRA background check guide apply too, and the state reporting rules are on California background check laws.

What do staffing agencies and their clients each do?

• Both are employers. The definition names temporary and placement agencies and any entity that evaluates criminal history for an employer, so the agency, the client and a screening firm acting as their agent can each be an "Employer" with duties under it.
• Ads. Every posting an agency runs for a job in the unincorporated areas needs the County statement, any restricting laws, and the duties list if records will be reviewed.
• Who sends what. The ordinance does not split the steps. Agree in writing who issues the Notice of Intent with the offer, who writes each assessment, who mails and emails each notice, and who keeps the four-year file.
• Assignments. Because reassignment and termination of current employees count as adverse actions, ending an assignment over a record found later needs the same process.
• Wording. For notice emails, see background check notification emails, adjusted to the County's required content.

Who enforces it and what are the penalties?

Applicants and employees may complain to the DCBA within one year at (800) 593-8222, fairchance@dcba.lacounty.gov or workers.lacounty.gov (8.300.100(B)). Under the Rules, the DCBA gives the employer 20 calendar days to respond, may inspect records and issue subpoenas, and either side may appeal its findings within ten calendar days. Penalties under 8.300.100(H) are up to $5,000 for a first violation, $10,000 for a second and $20,000 for each later one, per aggrieved person, with at least half paid to that person and a 10 percent monthly late fee. The DCBA may also recommend suspending County licenses. An applicant may instead sue after filing an intent-to-sue notice, within one year, for damages, back pay, reinstatement and attorney's fees (8.300.110). Adverse action within 90 days of an employee asserting these rights is presumed retaliatory (8.300.090), and an employer cannot be held liable for negligent hiring for ignoring records the ordinance barred it from using (8.300.110(B)).

What has changed since 2024?

We found no amendment to Chapter 8.300 as of November 2026. The DCBA added sample notices in 2025, and the Board of Supervisors approved the ordinance's Rules and Regulations for complaints, investigations and appeals; the board letter carries an adoption stamp dated November 18, 2025. The DCBA's Fair Chance page still listed the rules as "coming soon" when we checked.

A copy-ready job posting block and notice of intent

The first paragraph is the statement section 8.300.050(B)(1) requires; fill in the bracketed parts from the job.

JOB POSTING (any job with 2+ hours a week in unincorporated L.A. County)
Qualified Applicants with arrest or Conviction records will be considered
for Employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance
Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.
Background check required after a conditional offer.
Laws that restrict hiring for this job: [cite each law, or delete this line]
Job duties a criminal history may directly affect: [list material duties]

NOTICE OF INTENT (sent in writing with the conditional offer)
We are offering you the position of [title], contingent on a review of
your criminal history. We have good cause for this review because
[specific business risk, or specific safety risk to named people].
We will also review: [education / employment history / driving record /
references / credit / license / drug test / other].
You will receive a copy of any report before we discuss it with you.

Los Angeles County fair chance rules at a glance

San Francisco's rules are on the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance page, and a single company process is in our fair chance hiring policy template.