California recently enacted a new law which generally prohibits employers from including statements in job advertisements, postings, applications, or other materials that an applicant must have a driver's license.  Effective January 1, 2025, Senate Bill 1100 amends the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to include this prohibition against requiring a driver’s license in employer materials, unless the employer can meet both of two conditions.

Specifically, in order for an employer’s pre-employment materials to include that an applicant must have a driver's license, the employer must reasonably (1) expect driving to be one of the job functions for the position, and (2) believe that satisfying the job function using an “alternative form of transportation” would not be comparable in travel time or cost to the employer.  “Alternative form of transportation” is defined to include, but not be limited to, using a ride-hailing service, using a taxi, carpooling, bicycling, and walking.

Existing California law already provides some restrictions on employers with regard to employee driver’s licenses.  In 2013, California enacted Assembly Bill 60, which authorized the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants who provided satisfactory proof of their identities and California residency.  The following year, AB 1660 amended FEHA to make it a violation for an employer or other entity to discriminate against individuals with such a license, which is also referred to as an “AB 60 driver’s license.”

According to the supporting arguments in SB 1100’s legislative history, the reason for expanding the prohibitions on employers with respect to driver’s licenses is because a driver’s license is not typically related to an individual’s ability to perform the job, and basing hiring decisions on whether a candidate has a driver’s license can “contribute to discrimination against marginalized communities and reinforce socioeconomic disparities.”

While SB 1100 enacts a fairly minor change, it is important that employers review job advertisements, postings, applications, and other similar materials to ensure that they do not contain statements that an applicant must have a driver's license unless driving is one of the job functions for the position, and satisfying that job function using an alternative form of transportation would not be comparable in travel time or cost to the employer.