Navigating the Murky Waters of Employee Arrests

California has an intricate set of rules for conducting criminal background checks on applicants and employees, and many California employers are surprised that a unique subset of rules apply to records of arrests. This often leads to confusion and questions around what, if anything, the employer can do with this information, such as:

• Can an employer even consider a record of arrest for employment purposes?
• What should an employer do when a background check provider provides a record of an arrest for an applicant or employee?
• When an employee is detained and can’t come to work do employers need to keep that employee’s job open?
• Should an employer conduct an investigation into the circumstances of the arrest or detention?

Tune in as CalChamber Associate General Counsel for Labor and Employment Matthew Roberts and CalChamber General Counsel, Labor and Employment Bianca Saad discuss these issues and more on the latest episode of The Workplace podcast.