Source: https://banthebox.net/tag/california/
Timestamp: 2020-02-26 07:01:40
Document Index: 787962544

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 26240', '§ 12102', '§ 36', '§ 36', '§ 36', '§ 12926', '§ 12926', '§ 12926', '§ 12112', '§ 12940', '§ 12112', '§ 12940']

California – Ban the Box
Does California’s Ban the Box Law Cover Cannabis Jobs?
by Michael Astanehe · Feb 21, 2020
Although only launching in 2018, California’s thriving cannabis industry is ripe with job opportunities. Indeed, marijuana industry-related employment listings on job search website Indeed.com spiked more than 1,200 percent over the last four years. California’s recently enacted Ban the Box law, which prohibits employers from asking applicants about conviction history on initial job applications and during hiring interviews until after extending a conditional employment offer, is one critical state law inextricably linked to the cannabis industry. Owing to the disastrous war on drugs, millions of citizens presently have criminal records for nonviolent drug offenses, which often thwart their employment efforts. Wrongful denials even occur in cannabis-related positions. Given marijuana legalization’s proximal relationship with Ban the Box, cannabis applicants must be acquainted with their California Ban the Box rights.
California’s Fair Chance Act
California’s Ban the Box Law, also known as the Fair Chance Act, went into effect on January 1, 2018. The law assists Californians with conviction histories by prohibiting employers from inquiring into conviction history on initial job applications or during hiring interviews before extending a conditional employment offer. California’s Ban the Box Law seeks to remove the stigma associated with previous convictions and give all applicants a fair chance at securing employment.
California Ban the Box Covered Employees & Exemptions
California’s Ban the Box law applies to all employers with five or more employees. It applies to public and private employers. However, the law exempts certain employers from the law, including:
Positions as a farm labor contractor, as described in Labor Code section 1685; and,
Positions where an employer is required by law to conduct criminal background checks for employment purposes or to restrict employment based on conviction history. These positions typically include healthcare workers, law enforcement workers, and people employed in the financial services industry.
Yes, California’s Ban the Box law covers most entry-level positions for jobs in marijuana industry. No federal, state, or local law or regulation mandates criminal background checks on entry-level cannabis applicants.
As of the date of this post, no California regulation or law exists requiring cannabis employers to conduct criminal background checks on applicants for entry-level positions. Similarly, as of February 2020, no California county or city has passed a regulation or law requiring criminal background checks for entry-level positions in the marijuana industry.
Although marijuana remains an illegal Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, the federal government significantly shifted regulation and enforcement policies over the prior decade. A 2013 Memo, known as the Cole Memo, advised U.S. attorneys to limit federal marijuana enforcement to only a handful of circumstances. Despite rescinding the memo, the Trump Administration has mostly left cannabis companies complying with state laws undisturbed. Although abstaining from reinstating the memo, the present Attorney General, William Barr, expressed a commitment to the memo’s principles and has permitted cannabis companies to continue operations undisturbed in states where marijuana is legal. Thus, it is unlikely the federal government will reverse course and impose rules impeding the expansion of the cannabis industry, including mandating industry-wide criminal background checks for cannabis positions.
The lack of law or regulation providing exemption, combined with an increasingly lax federal posture, means that California’s Ban the Box law applies to cannabis employers. California’s Ban the Box has a simple framework: Cannabis employers cannot ask about applicant conviction history on initial applications or during hiring interviews, until extending a conditional employment offer. Where an applicant possesses conviction history, the cannabis employer must engage in an individualized assessment considering the nature and gravity of the offense, the time passed since the offense or sentence completion, and the nature of the job sought. If, after completing the assessment, the cannabis employer denies employment, the applicant can appeal. Cannabis employers must comply with California’s Ban the Box law.
California Equity Act for the Cannabis Industry
In 2018, California passed the California Cannabis Equity Act, which seeks to ensure that the people harmed by the war on drugs can receive assistance entering the cannabis industry as entrepreneurs or employees. Business & Professions Code § 26240. As part of the Cannabis Equity Act, the state encourages cities and counties to establish Equity Programs, which provide a leg up to people with criminal records searching for employment in the cannabis industry. The Equity Act not only complements California’s Ban the Box law, but it also evidences an intent to assist applicants with criminal records secure employment in the cannabis industry.
Filed Under: Ban the Box, California, Employee Rights, Employment Law, Federal Tagged With: Ban the Box, California, Cannabis, Fair Chance Act
Looking for Work with Conviction History Involving Drug or Alcohol Abuse? Request Reasonable Accommodation During Ban the Box Screening
by Michael Astanehe · Jan 20, 2020
Ban the Box laws generally prohibit employers from inquiring about an applicant’s conviction history before making a conditional employment offer. Once the employer makes the offer, they are allowed to investigate the applicant’s conviction history. After completing an individualized assessment, the employer cannot deny employment unless the criminal history, in relation to the position, justifies the employment denial. Further, applicants have a right to respond to an employer’s initial rejection. Applicants possessing conviction history due to substance abuse can respond and assert their disability rights, giving them greater leverage during the individualized assessment proceeding.
Disability Defined Under Federal & California Law
Under federal disability law, disability means a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits at least one major life activity. 42 U.S.C. § 12102. Disability is defined to include any drug addiction. 28 CFR § 36.105. However, the law excludes current use of illegal drugs from the definition of disability, and those individuals are not entitled to protection. 28 CFR § 36.104; 28 CFR § 36.209. Alcoholism is also a protected disability under the federal ADA. Collings v. Longview Fibre Co., 63 F. 3d 828, 832, fn. 4 (9th Cir. 1995).
Under federal law, individuals recovering or who have recovered from substance abuse qualify for ADA disability protection. The law is clear, substance abuse is a disability.
Under California disability law, codified in the Fair Employment & Housing Act (“FEHA”), disability means a physical or mental impairment that limits at least one major life activity. Disability is defined to include drug addiction. Government Code § 12926(n). Mirroring federal law, FEHA excludes current unlawful drug use from protection. Government Code §§ 12926(j)(5), 12926(m)(6). Alcoholism is also a protected disability under California FEHA. Government Code § 12926(n).
Employees and applicants can request accommodation for their disabilities during employment and the application process. Applicant’s with substance abuse related conviction histories can use federal and state law to strengthen their Ban the Box rights.
Claiming Reasonable Accommodation for Substance Abuse Conviction History Under Ban the Box
If you received or are receiving treatment for substance abuse and no longer use illicit substances or suffer from alcoholism, you can request an accommodation under federal ADA law and California during the employment process, including while an employer performs a Ban the Box individualized assessment.
Under most Ban the Box laws, applicants have the right to respond to an initial employment rejection due to their prior conviction history. For example, California’s Ban the Box right requires employers to provide at least five days for a response, which applicants can extend. Typically, applicants provide information and evidence demonstrating their fitness for the position or dispute the accuracy of the conviction history report. However, where the conviction history involves substance abuse or alcoholism, applicants can also inform employers about their disability and request accommodation. Once the employer becomes aware of the disability, they not only have to comply with the Ban the Box law but also the disability law. If the employer unlawfully rejects the applicant, the applicant suffered employment discrimination on two folds, their disability and conviction history.
What Reasonable Accommodation Must Employer Provide Job Applicants Protected by Ban the Box?
Federal and California disability law applies to applicants. 42 U.S.C. § 12112(b); Government Code § 12940(o). Under these laws, an employer must provide reasonable accommodation to a disabled applicant that enables an equal opportunity to participate in the application process and be considered for the position. 42 U.S.C. § 12112(b); Government Code § 12940(n).
Applicants with substance abuse conviction histories are typically disabled, provided they no longer use illicit drugs. Thus, the employer should not consider the conviction or prior drug use during the application process. Under most Ban the Box laws, the employer must consider information related to the applicant’s disability while performing the individualized assessment.
The employer only need provide accommodation when a disability is known. So, applicants must inform the employer of a disability in writing.
Filed Under: Ban the Box, California, Employee Rights, Employment Law, Federal Tagged With: Ban the Box, California, Federal Law, Reasonable Accommodation
Ban the Box Spreading to California Universities
by Michael Astanehe · Jan 14, 2020
On Monday, January 13, 2020, California State Senator Nancy Skinner announced her intention to introduce Senate Bill 776, also known as the “Ban the Box for Higher Education,” which would bar California colleges and universities from asking applicants about their criminal history. The change would apply to private and public institutions.
Although California public colleges and universities do not ask about criminal history for undergraduate applicants, many of those public schools do ask graduate school applicants. Many private colleges and universities ask applicants about criminal histories for both undergrad and graduate programs.
“The longtime practice of schools asking for an applicant’s criminal history must end. It is wrong and deeply unfair,” Skinner said while announcing the legislation, “Formerly incarcerated individuals deserve a fair chance at successful reentry and the opportunity to lead productive lives.”
SB776 is scheduled for hearing on January 15, 2020. If it becomes law, California will join four other states to ban the box for higher education. This vital legislation removes a critical barrier to accessing higher education and employment for thousands of Californians with criminal records.
Filed Under: Ban the Box, California Tagged With: Ban the Box, Ban the Box in Higher Education, California, Higher Education, New Law