If you hire in more than one city, “we follow FCRA” is not the same as “we’re Fair Chance compliant.” San Francisco just added hard clocks to its Fair Chance Ordinance. Miss a deadline, and a clean process on paper can still turn into a violation.
As of August 10, 2026, covered employers have new timing rules after they send a notice that criminal history may cost someone a job or a promotion. There is also a new required poster, dated August 2026. This guide is a practical checklist for HR teams who already run background checks and need the San Francisco overlay to line up with federal FCRA steps.
This is not legal advice. San Francisco, California, and federal rules stack. Talk with counsel about your locations, remote workers, and CRA package before you change templates.
What changed on August 10, 2026?
San Francisco’s Fair Chance Ordinance (FCO) has been on the books since 2014. It already limited when you can ask about arrest and conviction records and what you can consider. The July 2026 amendments, effective August 10, 2026, add process and raise the cost of getting it wrong.
The two changes most HR teams need to operationalize first:
1. New response clocks. If you send a prospective adverse-action notice based on conviction history or an unresolved arrest, the applicant or employee still has seven days to respond with evidence the record is inaccurate, evidence of rehabilitation, or other mitigating factors. If they do respond, you must confirm receipt within 14 days. You must send any final adverse-action notice within 30 days of receiving their information, or within 30 days of your original notice if they do not respond.
2. A new official poster. The Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE) posted an updated Fair Chance Ordinance Notice (dated August 2026). Post it where employees can actually read it. Provide a copy to each applicant or employee before you run a background check.
Penalties also went up. Administrative penalties are now $1,000 per affected person for a first violation, $2,000 for a second, and up to $4,000 for later violations. Liquidated damages in a civil action moved from $500 to $1,000 per affected applicant or employee.
The city also tightened which out-of-state records may never be used when the underlying conduct is lawful in California. Treat that as a “do not use / ask counsel” category, not something to litigate in a job ad. If a report surfaces an out-of-state item that might fall here, pause and get advice before it drives a decision.
Who is covered?
The FCO applies to employers located or doing business in San Francisco with five or more employees, counted anywhere, not just in the city.
It applies to positions where the person works, or will work, at least eight hours per week in San Francisco. That includes:
· Temporary, seasonal, part-time, contract, contingent, and commission-based work
· Work through a temp or staffing agency
· Vocational or educational training, paid or unpaid
· Remote work from a location in San Francisco
That last bullet is the one multi-state teams miss. A role “based” in Texas that is performed from an apartment in the Mission can still be an FCO job.
California’s statewide Fair Chance Act (AB 1008) still applies too. Employers who hire in San Francisco must satisfy both. When the rules differ, follow the stricter local clock and the stricter “do not consider” list.
Housing providers have a separate Fair Chance track through the Human Rights Commission. This article is about employment.
When can we ask about a record?
Same core rule as before: do not ask about arrest or conviction records until after a conditional offer.
That means:
· No checkbox on the application
· No “have you ever been convicted” in the first interview
· No running the criminal search as a pre-screen to decide who gets an offer
Suggested job-ad language from the city: “Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.”
After a conditional offer, you can order a compliant consumer report and review conviction history that is actually usable under the ordinance. You still cannot treat every hit as a reason to pull the offer.
What still cannot be considered?
Even after a conditional offer, covered employers may not use, among other things:
· An arrest that did not lead to a conviction (except unresolved arrests)
· Participation in a diversion or deferral-of-judgment program
· A conviction that has been dismissed, expunged, invalidated, or is otherwise inoperative
· A juvenile-system conviction
· An infraction or other non-felony/non-misdemeanor offense
· A conviction more than seven years old (unless the role supervises minors or dependent adults)
· A conviction for decriminalized conduct, including non-commercial cannabis use and cultivation
· Certain out-of-state convictions or arrests for conduct that is lawful in California (confirm the current list with counsel before you rely on an out-of-state item)
If a database search still shows a sealed, dismissed, or expired item, that is a data problem, not a hiring fact. Pause, verify, and do not let a stale hit drive the decision.
What does a compliant adverse-action process look like now?
Think of San Francisco as FCRA plus a local timer.
Federal FCRA (when you used a consumer reporting agency) generally still requires:
1. A stand-alone disclosure and written authorization before you order the report
2. If the report may cost the person the job, a pre-adverse notice with a copy of the report and a summary of rights
3. A reasonable waiting period
4. A final adverse-action notice if you still proceed
San Francisco FCO layers on:
1. An individualized assessment before you decide the record is disqualifying. Look at whether the conviction is directly related to the job, how much time has passed, evidence the item is inaccurate, rehabilitation, and other mitigating factors.
2. A written notice of prospective adverse action that identifies the specific items you are relying on, plus a copy of the report if you have one.
3. Seven days for the person to respond.
4. If they respond, confirm receipt within 14 days and actually reconsider.
5. If they make a reasonable factual showing that the decision is based solely on a conviction that is not directly related, you are required to withdraw the adverse action.
6. Send any final adverse-action notice within 30 days of receiving their information, or within 30 days of your original notice if they stay silent.
California state Fair Chance timing can differ from San Francisco’s seven-day window depending on how you send the notice. Do not assume your national CRA template already matches both.
A simple timeline you can put on the wall
1. Conditional offer
2. Provide the FCO poster / notice, then order the check
3. Review only usable records; run the individualized assessment
4. If you may rescind: send prospective adverse-action notice + report + specific items
5. Day 0–7: wait for a response
6. If they respond: confirm receipt by day 14 and reopen the assessment
7. Final notice by day 30 (from their response, or from your original notice if they did not respond)
Put owners on each step. “HR will get to it when the hiring manager is back from PTO” is how the 14- and 30-day clocks get missed.
What should we audit this month?
Use this as a working list, not a scorecard.
Job ads and applications
· Fair Chance statement is in solicitations
· No conviction question before a conditional offer
· Staffing/temp vendors who fill SF hours are using the same rule
Who you treat as “in San Francisco”
· Employees who work 8+ hours a week in the city, including remote-from-SF
· Seasonal and contingent roles, not just full-time HQ jobs
CRA / background-check package
· Authorization happens after the conditional offer for FCO-covered roles
· Reports can be filtered or reviewed against the “do not consider” list (7-year limit, dismissed/sealed, juvenile, infractions, cannabis, unresolved vs. non-conviction arrests)
· Someone is assigned to flag out-of-state items that may be off-limits under California law
· You can produce the report quickly when you send a prospective adverse-action notice
Letters and clocks
· Prospective adverse-action letter lists the specific items, not a vague “your background check”
· Calendar holds for the 7-day response, 14-day receipt confirm, and 30-day final notice
· If the person replies, someone sends a short “we received this on [date]” note inside 14 days
· Final letters do not sit in a queue past day 30
Poster and notices
· August 2026 FCO poster is up at each workplace or job site
· Posted in English, Spanish, Chinese, and any language spoken by at least 5% of employees at that site
· A copy goes to each applicant or employee before the background check
Documentation
· Individualized assessment notes (direct relation, time elapsed, rehab/mitigation)
· Dates of notices, replies, and receipt confirmations
· Annual compliance reporting to OLSE if you are a covered employer
How does this sit next to a national FCRA process?
A lot of FCRA lawsuits are about the process, not the record. Stand-alone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse notice, a real wait, final notice. San Francisco did not replace that. It made the wait measurable.
If your team uses one national adverse-action workflow, San Francisco is a reason to branch it:
· Same federal notices
· Local “do not consider” filters
· Local clocks and a receipt-confirmation email
· A poster step before the order
That is also where a consumer reporting agency earns its keep. Speed still matters. So does a report you can actually explain, dispute, and date-stamp. Instant database results are a first pass. County court depth is often what tells you whether a hit is current, dismissed, or someone else’s record. Neither replaces the Fair Chance steps.
Quick answers
Does this apply if nobody sits in our San Francisco office?
Possibly. Five employees anywhere plus 8+ hours a week worked in the city, including remote-from-SF, can be enough. Map the work, not the org chart.
Can we still run a criminal check?
Yes, after a conditional offer, using records the ordinance allows, plus an individualized assessment. The FCO is about when and how, not a ban on screening.
What if the report is wrong?
Give the person the items you relied on and the seven days to show inaccuracy, rehabilitation, or mitigation. Confirm you got their reply. Reassess. If the only item is not directly related, withdraw the adverse action.
Do we need a new poster if we posted the 2018 version?
Yes. Use the August 2026 notice. Old posters are the easiest miss on an audit.
Is this the same as California’s Fair Chance Act?
No. Similar idea, different details. Comply with both. When they conflict, take the path that gives the applicant the greater protection and confirm it with counsel.
The takeaway
San Francisco did not invent Ban the Box in August 2026. It put a clock on the part of hiring where people get quiet: the days after you send a “we may not hire you because of this record” letter. Confirm you received a response. Finish the decision. Send the final notice. Post the new notice. Filter what you are not allowed to use.
If you hire across cities, treat adverse action like a timed workflow, not a gut call. Your employees are your biggest asset. Informed, lawful screening is how you protect them without improvising the last mile.
Questions about building a check that is fast enough for hiring managers and clean enough for Fair Chance and FCRA? We’re here. Subscribe to the CriminalWatchDog newsletter for more practical hiring-compliance updates, and share this with the HR partner who owns your offer letters.
ADDITIONAL STORIES THAT MIGHT INTEREST YOU.
· How Ban the Box Legislation is Changing Hiring Practices
· The Ultimate Pre-Employment Screening Checklist