BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1650
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1650 (Jones-Sawyer)
As Amended May 23, 2014
Majority vote
JUDICIARY 10-0 APPROPRIATIONS 13-0
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|Ayes:|Wieckowski, Wagner, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, |
| |Alejo, Chau, Dickinson, | |Bradford, |
| |Garcia, Gorell, | |Ian Calderon, Campos, |
| |Maienschein, Muratsuchi, | |Eggman, Gomez, Holden, |
| |Stone | |Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, |
| | | |Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Provides that state contractors must determine an on-site
construction-related job applicant's minimum qualifications before
obtaining and considering information regarding the applicant's
criminal conviction history. Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that the any person submitting a bid to the state on a
contract involving onsite construction-related services shall
certify that the person does not ask an applicant for onsite
construction-related employment to disclose orally or in writing
information concerning the conviction history of the applicant on
or at the time of an initial employment application.
2)Specifies that this prohibition does not apply to a position for
which the person or state agency is otherwise required by state or
federal law to conduct a conviction history background check or to
any contract position with a criminal justice agency, as that term
is defined in Penal Code Section 13101.
3)Further provides that this prohibition does not apply to a person
that has a collective bargaining agreement with its employees that
is consistent with the provisions of this section.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
1)To the extent the bill's requirement would dissuade noncompliant
contractors from bidding on some state public works contracts,
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there would be reduced competition, which tends to increase
contract costs somewhat. Since the bill does not completely
prohibit a contractor from inquiring about an applicant's
conviction history-only from doing so during the initial
application process-it is assumed that most contractors would
adjust their practices accordingly in order to continue seeking
state contracts. Nevertheless, given that state public works
contracts total several billion dollars annually, the impact
describe above could be sufficient to increase contract costs by
more than $150,000 annually.
2)The state may incur investigation-related costs to the extent it
is presented with information that a bidder was not in compliance
with the bill's requirements. The number of such cases is
unknown, but the costs could be significant, involving
investigative personnel and legal staff.
3)If a state contractor was subsequently found to have been in
violation of the bill's requirements, there could be additional
costs to void the contract and engage another contractor.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "This bill is attempting to
address three issues: (1) discriminatory employment practices for
individuals with prior criminal convictions (2) extremely high
unemployment rates for individuals with criminal backgrounds (3)
high recidivism rates within California."
Existing law as the result of AB 218 (Dickinson), Chapter 699,
Statutes of 2013, provides that a state or local agency shall not
ask an applicant for employment to disclose, orally or in writing,
information concerning the conviction history of the applicant,
including any inquiry about conviction history on any employment
application, until the agency has determined the applicant meets the
minimum employment qualifications, as stated in any notice issued
for the position. Like this bill, this public employment rule does
not apply to positions for which a state or local agency is
otherwise required by law to conduct a conviction history background
check, to any position within a criminal justice agency, as that
term is defined in Penal Code Section 13101, or to any individual
working on a temporary or permanent basis for a criminal justice
agency on a contract basis or on loan from another governmental
entity. These rules go into effect on July 1, 2014.
This bill does not prohibit or otherwise limit a state contractor
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who employs on-site construction-related employees from conducting a
criminal background check or making employment decisions on the
basis of an applicant's prior convictions. Employers should of
course continue to approach these decisions with care to avoid
violating employment discrimination laws, which require that job
requirements be justified when they fall more heavily on some
groups. This bill does not affect existing law requiring that
employment standards be related to the job.
The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has
recognized in policy guidance issued in April 2012 that there are
observable racial disparities in the criminal justice system.
Because criminal background checks may have a disparate impact on
people of color, federal employment discrimination law prohibits
no-hire policies against people with criminal records. An
employer's consideration of a conviction history may pass muster if
an individualized assessment is made, taking into account whether
the conviction is job-related and the time passed since the
conviction. An employer therefore risks violating federal civil
rights laws when it cannot articulate an objective and
well-supported reason why the use of a criminal record to disqualify
an applicant is related to the functions of the job. Thus, removing
the inquiry about conviction history from the initial job
application promotes a case-by-case assessment of the applicant,
which is more consistent with the law. In keeping with the policy
embodied by AB 218, the EEOC guidance states: "As a best practice,
and consistent with applicable laws, the Commission recommends that
employers not ask about convictions on job applications and that, if
and when they make such inquiries, the inquiries be limited to
convictions for which exclusion would be job related for the
position in question and consistent with business necessity."
Moreover, the bill contains a broad exemption for any position for
which a state contractor or a government agency is otherwise
required by law to conduct a conviction history background check, as
well as any contract position within a criminal justice agency. The
bill uses the existing definition of "criminal justice agencies,"
those agencies at all levels of government that perform as their
principal functions, activities which either relate to the
apprehension, prosecution, adjudication, incarceration, or
correction of criminal offenders or relate to the collection,
storage, dissemination or usage of criminal offender record
information.
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Analysis Prepared by : Kevin G. Baker / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0003729