San Francisco County Municipal Code § 4903 Definitions

For the purposes of this Article 49, the following words and phrases shall mean and include: “Abortion-Related Healthcare Conviction” shall mean an out-of-state Conviction or Unresolved Arrest for conduct that is lawful under California law, and has the primary aim of seeking, performing, providing, receiving, or facilitating the services by or of a physician or other medical professional to terminate a pregnancy. "Adverse Action" in the context of employment shall mean to fail or refuse to hire, to discharge, or to not promote any individual; or to limit, segregate or classify employees in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities, or otherwise adversely affect his/her status as an employee. The "Adverse Action" must relate to employment in whole or substantial part in the City. "Adverse Action" in the context of housing shall mean to evict from, fail or refuse to rent or lease real property to an individual, or fail or refuse to continue to rent or lease real property to an individual, or fail or refuse to add a household member to an existing lease, or to reduce any tenant subsidy. The "Adverse Action" must relate to real property in the City. "Affordable Housing" means any residential building in the City that has received funding from the City, connected in whole or in part to restricting rents, the funding being provided either directly or indirectly through funding to another entity that owns, master leases, or develops the building. Affordable Housing also includes "affordable units" in the City as that term is defined in Article 4 of the Planning Code. Projects that are financed using City-issued tax exempt bonds but that receive no other funding from the City or are not otherwise restricted by the City shall not constitute Affordable Housing. "Arrest" shall mean a record from any jurisdiction that does not result in a conviction and includes information indicating that a person has been questioned apprehended taken into custody or detained, or held for investigation, by a law enforcement, police, or prosecutorial agency

and/or charged with, indicted, or tried and acquitted for any felony, misdemeanor or other criminal offense. "Arrest" is a term that is separate and distinct from, and that does not include, "Unresolved Arrest." "Background Check Report" shall mean any criminal history report, including but not limited to those produced by the California Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, other law enforcement or police agencies, or courts, or by any consumer reporting agency or business, employment screening agency or business, or tenant screening agency or business. "City" shall mean the City and County of San Francisco. "Conviction" shall mean a record from any jurisdiction that includes information indicating that a person has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor; provided that the conviction is one for which the person has been placed on probation, fined, imprisoned, or paroled. Those matters identified in Section 4904(a) and/or Section 4906(a) about which an Employer and/or Housing Provider may not inquire and as to which they may not base an Adverse Action, are not considered "Convictions." "Conviction History" shall mean information regarding one or more Convictions or Unresolved Arrests, transmitted orally or in writing or by any other means, and obtained from any source, including but not limited to the individual to whom the information pertains and a Background Check Report. “Directly-Related Conviction” in the employment context shall mean that the conduct for which a person was convicted or that is the subject of an Unresolved Arrest has a direct and specific negative bearing on that person’s ability to perform the duties or responsibilities necessarily related to the employment position. In determining whether the conviction or Unresolved Arrest is directly related to the employment position, the Employer shall consider the nature and gravity of the offense, whether the employment position offers the opportunity for the same or a similar offense to occur, and whether circumstances leading to the conduct for which the person was convicted or that is the subject of an Unresolved Arrest will recur in the employment position. “Directly-Related Conviction” in the housing context shall mean that the conduct for which a person was convicted or that is the subject of an Unresolved Arrest has a direct and specific negative bearing on the safety of persons or property, given the nature of the housing. In determining whether the conviction or Unresolved Arrest is directly related to the housing, the Housing Provider shall consider the nature and gravity of the offense, whether the housing offers the opportunity for the same or a similar offense to occur and whether circumstances leading to the conduct for which the person was convicted will recur in the housing, and whether supportive services that might reduce the likelihood of a recurrence of such conduct are available on- site. Those matters identified in Sections 4904(a) and/or Sections 4906(a) about which an Employer and/or Housing Provider may not inquire and as to which they may not base an Adverse Action may not qualify as “Directly-Related Convictions.” A Conviction or Unresolved Arrest that the record of conviction and/or additional information submitted by an applicant or employee demonstrates is an Abortion-Related Healthcare Conviction, a Drag Conviction, a Gender Affirming Care Conviction, and/or a Spontaneous Abortion-Related Conviction shall not be a “Directly-Related Conviction.” “Drag-Related Conviction” shall mean an out-of-state Conviction or Unresolved Arrest for conduct that is lawful under California law and that is related to a public, artistic performance characterized by exaggerated displays of femininity or masculinity, in some instances demonstrated by wearing clothing associated with a different gender than the person’s assigned gender at birth. “Employer” shall mean any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, labor organization, group of persons, association, or other organization however organized, that is located or doing business in the City, and that employs five or more persons regardless of location, including the owner or owners and management and supervisorial employees. “Employer” includes job placement and referral agencies and other employment agencies. “Employer” does not include the City and County of San Francisco, any other local governmental unit, or any unit of the state government or the federal government. “Employment” shall mean any occupation, vocation, job, or work, including but not limited to temporary or seasonal work, part-time work, contracted work, contingent work, work on commission, and work through the services of a temporary or other employment agency, or any form of vocational or educational training with or without pay. The physical location of the employment or prospective employment of an individual as to whom Section 4904 applies must be at least eight hours per week within the City. "Evidence of Rehabilitation or Other Mitigating Factors" may include but is not limited to a person's satisfactory compliance with all terms and conditions of parole and/or probation (however, inability to pay fines, fees, and restitution due to indigence shall not be considered noncompliance with terms and conditions of parole and/or probation); employer recommendations, especially concerning a person's post- conviction employment; educational attainment or vocational or professional training since the conviction, including training received while incarcerated; completion of or active participation in rehabilitative treatment (e.g., alcohol or drug treatment); letters of recommendation from community organizations, counselors or case managers, teachers, community leaders, or parole/probation officers who have observed the person since his or her conviction; and age of the person at the time of the conviction. Examples of mitigating factors that

rcerated; completion of or active participation in rehabilitative treatment (e.g., alcohol or drug treatment); letters of recommendation from community organizations, counselors or case managers, teachers, community leaders, or parole/probation officers who have observed the person since his or her conviction; and age of the person at the time of the conviction. Examples of mitigating factors that are offered voluntarily by the person may include but are not limited to explanation of the precedent coercive conditions, intimate physical or emotional abuse, or untreated substance abuse or mental illness that contributed to the conviction. “Gender Affirming Care Conviction” shall mean an out-of-state Conviction or Unresolved Arrest for conduct that is lawful under California law, and that is related to seeking, performing, providing, receiving, or facilitating medical care, support, or advocacy for the purpose of addressing disparities between any person’s gender identity and their physiology or perceived gender identity, including but not limited to hormone replacement therapy, surgical procedures, and changes to a person’s name or gender marker. This includes a Conviction for use of a gendered facility that corresponds with one’s gender identity and/or playing sports on a team that corresponds with one’s gender identity. "Housing Provider" shall mean an entity that owns, master leases, or develops Affordable Housing in the City. "Housing Provider" also includes owners and developers of below market rate housing in the City or "affordable units," as that term is defined in Article 4 of the Planning Code, in the City. Any agent, such as a property management company, that makes tenancy decisions on behalf of the above described entities shall also be considered a Housing Provider. "HRC" shall mean the Human Rights Commission or any successor department or office. The "Director" of HRC shall mean the department head of the HRC.

"Inquire" shall mean any direct or indirect conduct intended to gather information from or about an applicant, candidate, potential applicant or candidate, or employee, using any mode of communication, including but not limited to application forms, interviews, and Background Check Reports. "OLSE" shall mean the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement or any successor department or office. The "Director" of OLSE shall mean the head of the OLSE. "Person" shall mean any individual, person, firm, corporation, business or other organization or group of persons however organized. “Spontaneous Abortion-Related Conviction” shall mean an out-of-state Conviction or Unresolved Arrest for conduct that is lawful under California law, and is related to actions taken by a person regarding their own noninduced pregnancy loss before 20 weeks of pregnancy, also known as a miscarriage, or seeking, performing, providing, receiving, or facilitating the services by or of a physician or other medical professional related to such type of pregnancy loss. This includes a Conviction for conduct related to a stillbirth, which is pregnancy loss after 20 weeks of pregnancy. "Unresolved Arrest" shall mean an Arrest that is undergoing an active pending criminal investigation or trial that has not yet been resolved. An Arrest has been resolved if the arrestee was released and no accusatory pleading was filed charging him or her with an offense, or if the charges have been dismissed or discharged by the district attorney or the court. (Added by Ord. 17-14 , File No. 131192, App. 2/14/2014, Eff. 3/16/2014, Oper. 8/13/2014; amended by Ord. 249-14 , File No. 140878, App. 12/17/2014, Eff. 1/16/2015; Ord. 54-18, File No. 171170, App. 4/13/2018, Eff. 5/14/2018, Oper. 10/1/2018; amended by Ord. 128-26, File No. 260540, App. 7/10/2026, Eff. 8/10/2026) (Former Sec. 4903 added by Ord. 176-13, File No. 130661, App. 7/31/2013, Eff. 8/30/2013; expired 9/30/2013) (Former Sec. 4903 added by Ord. 61-01, File No. 002197, App. 4/20/2001; amended by Ord. 187-04, File No. 040759, App. 7/22/2004; repealed by Ord. 234-06, File No. 060892, App. 9/14/2006)