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Section
10.48 Purpose.
10.48.1 Definitions.
10.48.2 Employment Application Procedures.
10.48.3 Employer Assessment of Criminal History.
10.48.4 Notice and Posting Requirements for Employers.
10.48.5 Retaliation Prohibited.
10.48.6 Record Retention.
10.48.7 Exceptions from Employment Application Procedures.
10.48.8 Enforcement.
10.48.9 Penalty/Administrative Fine Schedule.
10.48.10 Implementation.
10.48.11 Conflicts.
10.48.12 Promotion of General Welfare.
10.48.13 Severability.
The City awards many contracts to private firms to provide services to the public and to City government. The City intends that the policies underlying this article serve to guide all of these expenditures of funds to the extent allowed by the law.
Studies show that the disclosure of a criminal conviction by job applicants on application forms often automatically excludes them from consideration of employment regardless of any relationship between the conduct underlying the conviction and the duties and responsibilities of the job, the length of time since the conduct occurred and the risk of the conduct reoccurring on the job. Automatic exclusion of persons with prior criminal convictions from consideration of employment prevents otherwise qualified applicants from obtaining employment and may result in employers hiring less qualified candidates, increases the risk of recidivism of persons so excluded from consideration and disparately impacts persons of certain races and national origin.
In 2013, the State Legislature passed and the Governor signed Assembly Bill No. 218, which amended the State’s Labor Code to prevent the State and local governments from seeking disclosure of conviction history from employment applicants until the agency has determined the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications. In April 2014, the City of Los Angeles implemented AB 218 by removing questions regarding criminal convictions from employment applications, reviewing a job applicant’s criminal history only after a position eligibility list is prepared, and considering, among other things, the relationship between the conviction and the duties of the position.
In November 2015, the President of the United States announced that the federal government and federal contractors could not consider job applicants’ criminal convictions in the initial stages of the employment process. Numerous other cities have similarly adopted regulations preventing inquiry into job applicants’ criminal history until after it is determine they are qualified for the position.
This ordinance expands the rights afforded applicants for employment with the City’s contractors and subcontractors. Specifically, such employers will be prohibited from inquiring into an employment applicant’s criminal history unless and until a conditional offer of employment is made to the applicant. An employer that fails to comply with the requirements of this ordinance will be subject to, among other things, termination of its City contract.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 184,653, Eff. 1-22-17.
The following definitions shall apply to this article:
A. “Adverse Action” means an Employer’s withdrawal or cancellation of a Conditional Offer of Employment made to an Applicant or a failure or refusal to employ the Applicant.
B. “Applicant” means an individual who submits an application or other documentation for Employment.
C. “Awarding Authority” means any subordinate or component entity or person of the City, such as a department or Board of Commissioners that has the authority to award or enter into a Contract. This shall not include any department that has control of its own funds under Charter Section 500(c).
D. “City” means the City of Los Angeles and all Awarding Authorities.
E. “Conditional Offer of Employment” means a Contractor’s or Subcontractor’s offer of Employment to an Applicant conditioned only on an assessment of the Applicant’s Criminal History, if any, and the duties and responsibilities of the Employment position.
F. “Contract” means any agreement, franchise, lease, or concession, including agreements for any occasional professional or technical personal services, for the performance of any work or service, the provision of any materials or supplies, or the rendition of any service to the City of Los Angeles or to the public, which is let, awarded or entered into with, or on behalf of, the City of Los Angeles or any awarding authority thereof.
G. “Contractor” means any Employer that enters into a Contract with the City.
H. “Conviction” means a record from any jurisdiction that includes information indicating that a person has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor, provided that the conviction is one for which the person has been placed on probation, fined, imprisoned or paroled.
I. “Criminal History” means information regarding one or more Convictions, transmitted orally or in writing or by any other means, and obtained from any source, including, but not limited to, the individual to whom the information pertains and a Criminal History Report.
J. “Criminal History Report” means any criminal history report, including, but not limited to, those produced by the California Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, other law enforcement or police agencies, or courts, or by any consumer reporting agency or business or employment screening agency or business.
K. “Designated Administrative Agency” or “DAA” means the Department of Public Works, Bureau of Contract Administration, who shall bear administrative responsibilities under this article.
L. “Employee” means an individual who has Employment with an Employer.
M. “Employer” means any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, labor organization, group of persons, association, or other organization however organized, that enters into a Contract with the City, or a contract with a Contractor or Subcontractor, and that employs ten or more Employees, including the owner or owners and management and supervisorial employees. “Employer” does not include any local governmental unit or any unit of the state government or the federal government.
N. “Employment” means any occupation, vocation, job or work performed in the City, including, but not limited to, temporary or seasonal work, part-time work, contracted work, contingent work, work on commission, and work through the services of a temporary or other employment agency, or any form of vocational or educational training with or without pay.
O. “Fair Chance Process” means an opportunity for an Applicant to provide information or documentation to an Employer regarding the accuracy of the Applicant’s Criminal History or Criminal History Report or that should be considered in the Employer’s assessment performed pursuant to Section 10.48.3(A), such as evidence of rehabilitation or other mitigating factors.
P. “Inquire” means any direct or indirect conduct intended to gather Criminal History information from or about an Applicant, using any mode of communication, including but not limited to application forms, interviews and Criminal History Reports.
Q. “Subcontractor” means any Employer that enters into a contract with a Contractor or Subcontractor to assist in performing the services to the City under a Contract.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 184,653, Eff. 1-22-17.
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