Effective December 2017, the County of San Mateo has modified its application process to comply with Assembly Bill 1008 (AB 1008). AB 1008 prohibits all state and local agencies from asking an applicant to disclose information regarding criminal conviction until the agency has given an applicant a conditional offer of employment. Positions in criminal justice agencies or other County agencies that are currently required by law to pass background checks are exempted from this bill, and applicants may be required to submit conviction information at any time in the application process.
(1) Does AB 1008 prohibit the County from considering a job applicant’s criminal convictions at all in the hiring process?
No, a public agency can still take into account the same considerations regarding a job applicant’s criminal convictions as before. The only difference is when in the recruitment process such conviction information can be considered.
(2) Will the conviction question still be asked?
No, once an applicant is given a conditional offer of employment they will be fingerprinted and the fingerprint results will be reviewed by Human Resources.
(3) Who reviews and has access to my conviction history?
Review of conviction information is limited to designated Human Resources staff for the purpose of determining whether the conviction(s) are related to the position for which you have applied.
Conviction information is not provided to members of the examination committees or panels.
(4) Will I be disqualified if I have been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony?
Conviction information is reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Having conviction(s) does not automatically disqualify you from employment.
(5) I have reviewed all of the information in the FAQ’s but I still have questions. Who should I contact?
If you have any further questions about conviction information, you should contact the Personnel Analyst handling that particular recruitment. The Personnel Analyst’s name can be found at the bottom of the job announcement.