Recent amendments to San Francisco’s Fair Chance Ordinance (FCO) go into effect on August 10, 2026, after which San Francisco employers will have to disregard certain additional criminal records. The recent amendments also require the employer to take action within certain time frames and increase potential penalties for failure to comply. The City's FCO limits how employers may use criminal history in hiring and other employment decisions. Recent amendments preclude employers from considering convictions and unresolved arrests related to abortion care, gender-affirming care, and drag performances, and add new deadlines to the adverse action process.

What the FCO Requires

The Board of Supervisors enacted the FCO in 2014, making San Francisco an early adopter of "ban the box" rules. It applies to employers with five or more employees located or doing business in the City, and covers any position involving at least eight hours of work per week in San Francisco.

Covered employers may not ask about arrest or conviction records before a conditional offer of employment. Covered employers may not ask about any of the following, even after a conditional offer of employment has been made:

• Arrests that did not lead to a conviction, other than unresolved arrests
• Diversion and deferral of judgment programs
• Convictions that have been dismissed or expunged
• Juvenile justice matters
• Infractions and other non-felony, non-misdemeanor offenses
• Convictions more than seven years old
• ...

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