San Francisco recently amended its Fair Chance Ordinance (FCO) to expand protections for applicants and employees with certain out-of-state criminal records. The Board of Supervisors passed the amendments on July 7, 2026, and Mayor Daniel Lurie signed them on July 10, 2026. The amendments take effect on August 10, 2026.

Background

The FCO applies to employers with five or more employees located or doing business in San Francisco. Like the California Fair Chance Act—the criminal history provision within the broader Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)—the FCO bars covered employers from asking about arrest or conviction records before a conditional offer of employment and from considering certain records, including arrests that did not result in a conviction. However, the FCO goes further than the state law by extending criminal history protections to current employees, not just applicants.

The FCO also requires covered employers to state in job postings that they will consider qualified applicants with criminal records, conspicuously post the official FCO Notice at each workplace, and give individuals an opportunity to present mitigating evidence before any adverse action based on conviction history.

The amendments

Effective August 10, 2026, the FCO will prohibit employers from using out-of-state criminal convictions or unresolved arrests as a basis for adverse employment decisions where the underlying conduct is lawful in California and relates to the following categories:

• Abortion-related healthcare
• Drag performances
• Gender-affirming care
• Spontaneous abortion (including stillbirth)

The ordinance provides that these four categories can never qualify as “Directly-Related Convictions,” meaning employers cannot rely on them to justify an adverse action even if the conduct might otherwise appear relevant to the position.

The amendments also strengthen procedural requirements. If an applicant or employee submits information within seven days of the employer’s pre-adverse action notice, the employer must confirm receipt within fourteen days, delay any adverse action for a reasonable period, and reconsider in light of the submission. If the individual demonstrates that the adverse action rests solely on a conviction not directly related to the position, the employer must withdraw it.

The amendments also double administrative penalties before the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement: first violations increase from $500 to $1,000 per affected individual, second violations from $1,000 to $2,000, and subsequent violations from $2,000 to $4,000. Liquidated damages in civil lawsuits also double, from $500 to $1,000 per person per day the violation continues.

According to the “Findings” section of the ordinance, the Board of Supervisors acted in the wake of an “unprecedented” attack on “reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ rights” across the nation, where many states are criminalizing “basic human rights,” including “gender-affirming care, drag performances, and reproductive healthcare, particularly abortion and miscarriage care.” San Francisco aims to insulate its residents from employment consequences tied to out-of-state prosecutions for conduct that remains legal in California. The amendments were designed to “ensure that no one living in San Francisco is adversely impacted while seeking affordable housing or employment due to cruel or discriminatory laws in other states.”

Why it matters

• Immediate compliance deadline. Employers covered by the FCO should review and update their background check policies and adverse action procedures before August 10, 2026.
• Broader prohibitions on criminal history. Employers may no longer rely on out-of-state convictions or arrests related to the four enumerated categories, even if the state Fair Chance Act would otherwise permit them to do so.
• Increased penalties. The higher administrative penalties and liquidated damages raise the cost of noncompliance, making prompt policy review all the more important.
• Overlapping legal frameworks. California employers face a patchwork of federal, state, and local criminal history requirements, including the FCRA, the FEHA, and municipal ordinances. Meanwhile, the California Civil Rights Department continues to bring enforcement actions under the FEHA’s criminal history provisions.

Employers should review job applications, conditional offer templates, background check disclosures, pre-adverse and adverse action notices, and workplace postings to confirm compliance with both the amended FCO and the California Fair Chance Act.