San Francisco Updated Fair Chance Ordinance (FCO) Notice

February 18th, 2020 | Angela Preston, Senior Vice President and Counsel, Corporate Ethics and Compliance with Ryan Hannan, Compliance Associate

The City & County of San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance notice (the “Notice”) has been updated by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. The Notice has been shortened from the previous version, with more condensed content in favor of links to the more detailed information on the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement’s (OLSE) page of San Francisco’s website.

The Board of Supervisors passed the Fair chance Ordinance (FCO) in February 2014 (with amendments in 2018) to prohibit city employers, contractors, subcontractors, leaseholders, and private employers with five or more employees from asking about applicants’ arrest and conviction records prior to a conditional offer of employment. The FCO further limits the types of convictions and information that may be considered and requires solicitation materials to note that qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records will be considered, individualized assessments to be conducted prior to making adverse employment decisions, and annual compliance reports to be submitted to the OLSE. In addition, covered employers must provide a conspicuous physical copy of the of the Official FCO Notice in every workplace and jobsite under the employer’s control.

Note that the Fair Chance Ordinance itself, and the requirements it places on employers have not changed. Those requirements listed on the previous iteration of the notice which were removed, remain in effect. San Francisco clients should consult their legal counsel regarding their Fair Chance practices, and the presentation and placement of their notices.

A copy of the updated notice, and more information related to the FCO can be found here.

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