Can we fire an employee who was arrested and is in jail?

Employers need to proceed carefully before taking any adverse action against employees who have been arrested while off duty for crimes that are unrelated to their jobs. The main reason for caution is that California prohibits termination and other adverse actions based on an employee’s arrest.

Labor Code Section 432.7(a) provides that no employer shall “utilize, as a factor in determining any condition of employment including hiring, promotion, termination… any record of arrest or detention that did not result in conviction.”

An arrest is an accusation, and the employer should not assume that the employee committed