April 2024 Newsletter

Spring Has Arrived But Winter Keeps Lingering

Throughout the country, it seems like winter is trying to hang on while most of us are looking forward to spring. This is analogous to the economy, financial markets, and sentiment in general. There is a strong feeling building that business and the economy as a whole may start to pick up, but when we’ve been warned of a coming recession for over a year it is hard to believe that spring is here and the flowers will soon bloom throughout the entire nation. Hope for the best, plan for the worst but live in the present seems like the best course of action.

We are proud to support the businesses that we work with year-round regardless of the season, the economy, or which way the winds blow, and to always give 100% while we do it. 24+ years later and thousands of employers served, we’ve seen our fair share of seasons come and go and look forward to supporting you for many more decades through all climates. Happy spring!

As always, please reach out to our team with any questions.

Stay Safe & Healthy

Sandra James

New Criminal History Hiring Practices in CA: What You Need to Know

Key Changes:

1. Delayed Inquiry into Criminal History: Employers must wait until after extending a conditional job offer to ask about or consider an applicant’s criminal history. This also applies to existing employees in scenarios such as promotions, training, layoffs, or terminations. An important expansion is that the definition of “applicant” now encompasses existing employees being evaluated due to organizational changes in ownership, management, policies or practices.
2. Transparent Job Advertisements: It’s now prohibited to include statements in job ads that suggest individuals with criminal history won’t be considered. This helps promote inclusivity from the very start of the recruitment process.
3. Voluntary Disclosure Timing: If an applicant voluntarily discloses their criminal history before receiving a conditional offer, the employer cannot consider this information until after deciding on the offer. This ensures that initial judgments are not swayed by such disclosures.

For more information: Reach out to us!

Powered by BayOne: #MakeTechPurple

The tech world is riddled with the problem of gender disparity and underrepresentation in its workforce. Women and minorities are harrowingly underrepresented in the field, and lacking diversity reduces creativity and innovation.

#MakeTechPurple is about changing that. We want to make the industry more inclusive, so everyone can successfully contribute their unique perspectives and talents.

BayOne embarked on its #MakeTechPurple journey in 2019, committed to increasing the percentage of women in the tech workforce. We chose purple as a mindful combination of the color red (representing women in tech) and the color blue (representing the historically male-dominated influence in the industry). The resulting color purple, which also symbolizes power, wisdom and creativity, is the ideal representation of this mission.

Watch the video to learn more!

Continuing Privacy Headache for Ordering Criminal Background Checks in California

Companies that hire employees and engage independent contractors in California should brace themselves for an even greater slowdown in background checks that include criminal record searches in Los Angeles County.1 This will result from the drastic impact of the court of appeal’s 2021 opinion in All of Us or None v. Hamrick, which prohibited the Riverside Superior Court from allowing its electronic criminal case index to be searched using an individual’s known date of birth or driver’s license number.

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California is clearing criminal records — including violent crimes — to offer second chances

California has allowed expungements of misdemeanors and some lower-level felonies, but not crimes that would be serious enough to send the offender to prison.

That’s no longer the case: Under Senate Bill 731, which went into effect in mid-2023, Californians with most kinds of felony convictions, including violent crimes, can ask for their records to be cleared. Sex offenses are the primary exception. To be eligible, applicants must have fully served their sentences, including probation, and gone two years without being re-arrested.

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