Background checks are an integral part of the recruitment process of most companies. They serve as a valuable tool for employers who want to glance at their potential hires’ histories and disqualify unfit candidates.
Even though background checks are not mandatory for most positions in California’s private sector, most employers run background screenings to get more information on applicants.
However, the rules around background checks can be complicated and hard to understand, particularly in California, as there are multiple federal, state, and local laws employers must comply with when checking the history of their potential hires.
What Is the Law for Background Checks in California?
Some of the most important laws California employers need to be aware of before running a background check on potential hires include the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the California Ban the Box legislation, the California Information Privacy Act, and other anti-discrimination laws and fair chance ordinances.
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
The Fair Credit Reporting Act is a federal law that advocates for accuracy, fairness, and privacy in background screenings. As a federal law, it is the national standard and serves as the foundation for most state laws regulating background checks, including California background check laws.
The FCRA rules California employers need to be aware of before running a background check include:
- Employers must inform their candidates in writing that the hiring process may involve a background screening.
- Employers must also get written permission from candidates before running a background check on them.
- If the screening requires medical information about the candidate, employers must get written permission for it, specifically.
- If a candidate was denied a job opportunity because of information from the background check report, the employer must inform them about it.
The background check laws in California that parallel the FCRA are the Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA) and the California Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act (CCRAA).
Specific clauses of the ICRAA are stricter than those of the FCRA, so they supersede them.
For example, the ICRAA mandates that background checks can’t go back more than seven years when reporting the criminal histories of applicants whose promised salary is less than $75,000 per year.
Ban the Box Laws
The term Ban the Box refers to an American campaign and movement that advocates equal opportunity and a fair chance for employment for ex-convicts.
In the current California background check law, ban the box rules only apply to employers from the public sector. They are enforced by the California Fair Chance Act, which mandates that employers must first determine that a candidate meets their job requirements before conducting a background screening on them. California employers can’t inquire about the applicant’s criminal history before making them a job offer.
In the private sector, ban the box legislation is enforced by local laws, like the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring.
California Information Privacy Act (CIPA)
The California Information Privacy Act is a state law that expands on the California employment background check laws mandated by the FCRA.
According to the CIPA, California employers, who hire third-party background screening companies to run a screening on a candidate, are required to allow the candidate the chance to receive a copy of the report.
Additionally, they must clearly explain the reason for conducting the screening, provide information about the company conducting it, and ensure the candidate receives a copy of the report three days after they receive it, at the latest.
In accordance with the FCRA, candidates can use a copy of the report to check for inaccuracies or incomplete information and file a dispute if they find any.
Other CA Background Check Laws
As we previously mentioned, background check regulation in California is very complex, and in addition to the laws above, California employers must also comply with:
- CA Labor Code 432.7 – Employers must not ask candidates or base their hiring decisions on charges that did not result in a conviction and dismissed or sealed convictions.
- CA Labor Code 222.5 – Employers must cover the cost of pre-employment drug screenings or other medical examinations.
- CA Labor Code 1024.5 – Employers can only consider credit background checks when making hiring decisions about positions where employees are required to handle sensitive information, finances, or have access to at least $10,000 in cash.
And numerous other regulations.
What Does a California Background Check Show?
Depending on the request, California background checks can provide information on different areas of the subject’s past, including criminal records, past employment, verification of education and credentials, driving records, healthcare background screening, etc.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the most commonly conducted background screenings in California.
Criminal Background Check
Employers who want to know if their potential hires have a criminal history can run a criminal background screening on their applicants. The background-checking company will research national, federal, state, and county criminal records and report their findings.
In California, a criminal background check will generally report on previous convictions for misdemeanors and felonies made in the past seven years from the time the screening started.
Older convictions, arrests that did not result in a conviction, convictions for which the subject has been pardoned or completed a diversion program, as well as expunged or sealed convictions, will typically not be reported.
While most employees run criminal background checks on candidates of their own volition, criminal background checks are mandatory for certain jobs. For example, California sex offenders laws prohibit persons with a history of sex crimes from working with children, so schools must run criminal background checks on all their potential employees.
Past-Employment Background Check
A typical California employment background check will involve verification of the accuracy of the candidate’s claim regarding their previous jobs. Past-employment verification is essential for any employer as it will not only ensure they are hiring an employee with the experience necessary for the position but will also test the candidate’s integrity.
Not all candidates are completely honest in their resumes, and some of them like to enhance their past employment experiences with false claims. Employment verification checks will report on the subject’s job titles, tenures, and dates of employment so they can corroborate or contradict these claims.
Education and Professional Credentials Background Check
Like past-employment verification, education verification is a common requirement for a California background check. Employers looking for candidates whose job position demands a certain degree, professional license, or other educational qualification must run such screenings to protect themselves from negligent hire.
Education verification checks will not only report if the claims are valid, but also provide specific details about the institutions that bestowed the credentials, the candidate’s dates of attendance, and other important information.
Driving Record Background Check
Certain job positions require specific information to be included in the background check report to determine if the candidate is suitable. For example, the background check requirements for California employers looking to hire a driver will likely include an MVR records screening.
For this screening, the background-checking company will research the California Department of Motor Vehicles records and report on traffic violations and offenses. While some offenses like DUI will appear on the criminal background check, the driving background check can provide more details on minor traffic violations that are usually not included.
If a candidate has too many traffic violations, no matter how small, employers could be liable for negligent hire, which is why running an MVR check is essential.
Other Common Background Checks
Beyond the types of background checks we already mentioned, in specific situations, employers can also run:
- California DOJ background check, which is a criminal background check that examines the FBI’s criminal records and looks for criminal histories on a federal level and can only be done using a fingerprint.
- Credit background check, which reports on the subject’s credit history, accounts in collection, and bankruptcies, but not credit scores. Usually required when hiring for supervisory or jobs that involve handling financial or other sensitive information.
- Social media background check, which can expose information that may potentially be damaging to the employer and their company.
How Far Back Does a Background Check Go in California?
While in most states, the period that can be examined in background checks can vary and is regulated by multiple laws, in California, the rules are unambiguous. In accordance with the ICRAA, California criminal background checks can go back up to seven years for most subjects, though there are some very rare exceptions.
Furthermore, MVR checks can report on convictions that are three, seven, or ten years old, depending on the severity of the offense.
As for education and past-employment verifications, there are no legal restrictions, and background-checking companies can go back as much as is necessary to verify the claims.
How Long Does a Background Check Take in California?
Depending on the information required and how much research is necessary, a California background check can take anywhere between a few minutes to a whole month.
Here are some estimations published by most professional background-checking providers:
- One to three business days for criminal background checks, or longer for counties that don’t have digital records.
- Between three and five business days for past employment and education verifications.
- Anywhere between one business day and a few weeks for MVR checks, since many counties still use records on paper.
How Much Is a Background Check in California?
Once again, it depends on the requirements. Most background check service providers have basic monthly plans that start from $29.99. For employers that need advanced screening and have specific requirements, the price can go up to a few hundred dollars.
Employers that want to run background checks themselves, without hiring a third-party provider, first must become an authorized applicant agency with the DOJ. Then they need to get written permission from their subjects and then get their fingerprints scanned by a Live Scan operator, which charges $32.
The Bottom Line
Running a background check in the state of California, or anywhere else in the US for that matter, is quite a common practice nowadays, and for a good reason.
Background check reports can give employers the necessary information to make the right call and hire only the candidates that are best suited for the job. At the same time, they allow them to protect the workplace and current employees from persons who may potentially put their lives in danger.
That being said, conducting a background check and staying compliant with all the rules and regulations around it can be very challenging and take a lot of work. This is why hiring a professional background check service provider, instead of wasting time and human resources, can prove to be a good investment.
