Los Angeles County, California Court Records

The heart of Southern California, Los Angeles County, has the largest population of any county in the nation, with a staggering 9.8 million people living within its borders. It is the core element of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Nearby counties include Kern, Orange, San Bernardino, and Ventura. Major employers include the LA Unified School District, Kaiser Permanente, Target, and Amazon.

Los Angeles is a major cultural melting pot and has remained a destination area for decades. As a result, the city is jam-packed with businesses of all sizes, including major multinational corporations. Since the area almost always has job openings and a pleasant climate, employers here may frequently encounter individuals from diverse points of origin. This can be a boon for your business, but it also means you're more likely to meet individuals who may not be a suitable or safe fit. Conducting pre-employment vetting with background checks is a must in busy metro areas.

As useful as background checks are, their usage has some restrictions you should know — especially in California. Los Angeles has its own ban the box law, but a statewide law that went into effect in 2017 supersedes the local law in most cases. 

The California Fair Chance Act is the primary vehicle for regulation that employers should know. This law applies to virtually all private employers with five or more workers. It also applies to public employers (e.g. counties and the state itself) and those who contract with such entities. The Fair Chance Act stipulates the following:

• Making a conditional job offer is mandatory before you may ask any questions about criminal history. You cannot ask it on job applications or run a background check before making an offer.
• All applicants must have an individualized assessment of their records, considering factors including the age of the conviction, its nature or severity, and whether the crime is relevant to the job role.
• All adverse action steps outlined in the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act must be followed alongside any additional requirements in the California Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act or ICRAA.

Federal law stipulates that you must provide a standalone disclosure of your intent to use background checks and says you must get an applicant's consent. The ICRAA goes further: you must include a separate statement of California's rights for job applicants that are not bundled with the federal disclosure. Employers should review the ICRAA in depth to understand the information they must provide to all job applicants.

From 2024, businesses in California will not be able to take some types of adverse action against applicants who test positive for cannabis on a pre-employment drug test. On-duty use remains illegal, but an employer cannot deny someone a job based on off-duty marijuana consumption. Companies may still conduct tests but not take adverse action over cannabis.

The next step is equipping yourself to conduct background checks at the appropriate stage. Generally, a wide-ranging search can provide a good baseline for understanding your candidate's history. The US OneSEARCH generates background reports in minutes and searches for matching records in a database of criminal records we've compiled from nationwide sources. See full source details on our online coverage map.

Unfortunately, not every county makes its records easy to access, including Los Angeles County. For the most recent and up to date information on candidates you're considering here, we suggest ordering a traditional county court search. State-level databases can take time to reflect updates at the local level, but our court runner service ensures you can find any important recent information.

Background reports sourced from county court records may include the subject's:

• Name
• Offense/Charge
• Sentence
• Disposition

Hiring in Los Angeles county should be an opportunity to find the right talent to suit your business needs. Boost your confidence level in every new hire by using a background check process that is both thorough and compliant with the rules inside the Los Angeles metropolitan area.