FedEx Pays $85K Over Old Conviction | CA Fair Chance Act
- Tom Feher, Esq.
FedEx has agreed to pay $85,000 and overhaul how it screens California job applicants to resolve a state investigation into a rejected driver, according to the California Civil Rights Department. The department said the company violated the California Fair Chance Act when a FedEx contractor turned down an applicant for a driving job in Riverside County based on an old and unrelated conviction. The agreement, announced in early June 2026 and picked up this week in trade coverage, also requires FedEx to train the staff who review applicant backgrounds and to adopt a California-specific process for handling criminal history. FedEx resolved the matter without admitting liability.
Attorney's Take: Tom Feher
Cases like this one are easy to overlook because nobody was hurt in a crash and there is no dramatic headline. But for the worker on the other end of that rejection, the harm is real. Someone applied for a steady driving job, got far enough to receive a conditional offer, and then watched it disappear over a conviction that had nothing to do with whether they could safely drive a route. In our practice we see how often a years-old record gets used as an automatic disqualifier, and how rarely the employer follows the steps California law actually requires.
Here is what a lot of workers do not realize: California decided years ago that a criminal record should not be a permanent bar to earning a living. The Fair Chance Act, codified at Government Code section 12952, tells employers with five or more workers that they cannot ask about conviction history until after a conditional offer, and that they cannot yank the offer without genuinely weighing whether the conviction relates to the specific job. The point is to judge people on what they can do, not on a stereotype attached to an old mistake.
What stands out in the FedEx matter is the procedural side. The state alleged the companies did not perform an adequate individualized assessment, did not clearly tell the applicant about the right to submit evidence of rehabilitation, and did not even notify the applicant that the offer had been withdrawn. Those are not technicalities. The notice-and-response process is the heart of the law, because it is the worker’s only real chance to say, here is who I am now. When an employer skips it, the applicant never gets to make their case.
The other thing worth noting is who can be on the hook. A national company does not escape responsibility just because a contractor or staffing agency ran the hiring. Under California law, the businesses involved in the decision can share liability. For workers, that matters, because it means the deep-pocketed employer cannot always point down the chain and walk away.
What California Law Says
A few core rules govern how California employers must treat an applicant’s criminal history:
- The Fair Chance Act. California Government Code section 12952 applies to employers with five or more employees. It bars questions about conviction history before a conditional offer and forbids denying a job over a conviction without an individualized assessment.
- Individualized assessment. The employer must consider the nature and gravity of the offense, the time that has passed since it occurred, and the nature of the job before deciding the conviction is disqualifying. Blanket bans do not satisfy this requirement.
- Notice and a right to respond. If the employer makes a preliminary decision to rescind the offer, it must give written notice, identify the conviction at issue, and allow the applicant at least five business days to respond with evidence of rehabilitation or mitigating circumstances before the decision becomes final.
- Broader discrimination protection. The Fair Employment and Housing Act, Government Code section 12940, separately protects workers from discrimination, and conviction-history rules are designed in part to prevent policies that fall hardest on protected groups.
- Deadline to act. Under Government Code section 12960, a worker generally has three years to file a complaint with the Civil Rights Department (CRD), and roughly one year to sue after receiving a right-to-sue notice.
You can learn more on our California employment law overview and our California workplace discrimination page.
If This Happened to You or a Loved One
If a California employer pulled a job offer because of an old conviction, a few early steps protect your rights:
- Keep every document, including the job offer, any background-check report, and any notice you received about the decision.
- Write down the dates and names of everyone involved, including any staffing agency or contractor, while the details are fresh.
- Gather evidence of rehabilitation, such as certificates, steady work history, references, and the time that has passed since the offense.
- If you received a preliminary notice, respond in writing within the time the law allows, usually at least five business days.
- Do not assume the rejection was lawful or final just because a large company made it.
- Contact a California employment attorney promptly, because the deadline to file with the Civil Rights Department, while measured in years, runs from the decision.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Not automatically. Under the California Fair Chance Act, an employer with five or more employees cannot ask about your conviction history until after a conditional job offer, and it cannot withdraw that offer over a conviction without first doing an individualized assessment and giving you a chance to respond. A blanket no-felons policy that ignores those steps can violate state law.
The Fair Chance Act, found at California Government Code section 12952, is the state's ban-the-box law. It limits when and how an employer can consider a job applicant's criminal history, and it requires employers to weigh the specific facts before denying a job over a past conviction. The Civil Rights Department (CRD) enforces it.
It applies to employers that have five or more employees, which covers most California workplaces. Both the company making the offer and a staffing agency or contractor involved in the hiring decision can be responsible for following the law.
Before an employer rejects you over a conviction, it must actually consider whether that conviction has a direct and adverse relationship to the duties of the job. That means looking at the nature and seriousness of the offense, how much time has passed, and the nature of the position, instead of treating every record as disqualifying.
Under California Government Code section 12960, you generally have three years to file an administrative complaint with the CRD over an unlawful hiring decision. After the department issues a right-to-sue notice, you typically have one year to file a lawsuit, so it is best to act early.
Feher Law handles employment and discrimination matters on a contingency basis, which means there is nothing to pay up front and no fee unless we recover for you. You pay nothing unless we win.
Last reviewed by Thomas Feher, Esq., June 2026
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This article is for general information and is not legal advice for any specific matter.
