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Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger State Capitol Sacramento, CA 95814 Dear Governor Schwarzenegger: I request your VETO of AB 3063 (Labor and Employment Committee), that would prohibit employers from asking applicants to disclose certain prior criminal convictions which could legitimately impact an employer’s hiring decisions. Current law prohibits an employer from asking a job applicant to disclose or to use in employment-related decisions, information concerning an arrest or detention that did not result in a conviction. AB 3063 adds a new prohibition on asking or using information concerning an arrest or detention that resulted in a conviction that was expunged. Expungement does not mean that the individual was not, in fact, convicted for a crime he or she was found guilty of. Rather, it’s simply the deletion of the conviction from some public records. Employers should have the right to fully evaluate an applicant’s suitability for employment, including prior criminal convictions and should not be required to hire an applicant who poses a risk to customers or other employees. Customers place their trust in business when they share their personal and financial information, and invite our employees into their homes and businesses. How can they trust any business if they know the employees with privilege to their information or property may have been previously convicted of a financial crime, a violent crime or identity theft? It could cause problems for many industries including truck drivers convicted of drunk driving, or any personal services organization such as the cable company, a maid service, or plumber with access to an individual’s home who has previously been convicted of robbery or violence. Employer’s need assurance of the trustworthiness of employees and should not be prohibited from doing so through due diligence to evaluate criminal convictions of job applicants. I am also concerned that this prohibition could create confusion. Explanations on applications of what the applicant must disclose or not disclose may confuse the applicant who may end up not disclosing violations that should be disclosed. Employers will find convictions when conducting a background check but then spend time trying to determine whether the applicant was trying to falsify the application, truly misunderstood the instructions, or got bad advice from an attorney about whether the conviction had to be disclosed. The result of such confusion will not benefit employees or employers.

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