Known as “Ban-the-Box” legislation in reference to the box applicants are asked to check if they have any prior criminal convictions, the new law prohibits employers from inquiring about or considering a job applicant’s conviction history prior to an offer of employment. Specifically, the new law amends California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) by making it unlawful for employers in California with five or more employees to include on any application for employment any question that seeks the disclosure of an applicant’s conviction history; to inquire into or consider the conviction history of an applicant until that applicant has received a conditional offer; and, when conducting a conviction history background check, to consider, distribute, or disseminate information related to specified prior arrests, diversions, and convictions. The law expands existing “Ban-the-Box” legislation currently in effect in at least 15 local jurisdictions, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, to the whole of California. (AB 1008.)