The Clearance You Already Have Can Disappear Overnight
Most providers think of a background check as a one-time hurdle at hiring. It is not. The day you fingerprint an employee, the state begins watching — and a single arrest months or years later can pull that person’s clearance out from under them, and hand your facility a problem you did not create. Ava asked attorney Michael Benavides what happens when a current employee gets in trouble with the law.
Ava Asks, Michael Answers — When an Employee’s Clearance Falls, Plain English
Ava:
My employee was already cleared. Can a new arrest really change that?
Michael, Esq.:
Yes. When you fingerprint someone for a license or a job, the Department of Justice keeps those prints on file and sends the state a subsequent-arrest notification if that person is later arrested or convicted — that is Penal Code section 11105.2. Clearance is not a one-time event; the person is monitored for as long as they are associated with your facility.
Ava:
What happens when that notice comes back with something serious?
Michael, Esq.:
If the new record is disqualifying, the Department can rescind a criminal-record exemption it previously granted — and rescinding the exemption reverses the clearance. The person who was cleared yesterday is not cleared today. The Department notifies both the licensee and the individual in writing.
Ava:
The moment their clearance is gone, what is my obligation?
Michael, Esq.:
Remove them from contact with clients immediately. Presence at a licensed facility with children or residents requires a current clearance — child care under Health and Safety Code section 1596.871, RCFE under section 1569.17, community care under section 1522. The day the clearance drops, an uncleared person on the floor is a violation against your license, not the employee’s problem alone.
Ava:
Even if I think the charge is minor, or a mistake?
Michael, Esq.:
You remove first and sort it out second. The exemption review — including a fresh look at the new record — runs on the Department’s timeline, and the person generally cannot be present with clients while it is pending unless the law allows it. Your job is to protect your facility’s clearance status while that plays out.
Ava:
Can this turn into an exclusion of the person?
Michael, Esq.:
It can. A disqualifying conviction or a denied or rescinded exemption is exactly the ground the Department uses to exclude an individual from every facility of that type statewide — child care under section 1596.8897, RCFE under section 1569.58, community care under section 1558. What starts as one employee’s arrest can end as a lifetime bar, with its own fifteen-day appeal clock.
Ava:
Does the employee get told?
Michael, Esq.:
Yes. If the subsequent-arrest information is the basis for an adverse employment or licensing decision, the person is entitled to a copy of that information at the same time. They have exemption and appeal rights — but those rights do not put them back on your floor while the matter is open.
Ava:
How does a facility protect itself?
Michael, Esq.:
Keep your associated-persons list current, watch for the subsequent-arrest and exemption-rescission notices, and act the day one arrives: remove the person from client contact, document the removal, and get the exemption or defense moving. The facilities that get cited are the ones that let a person keep working after the clearance was already gone.
What to Do
When you fingerprint an employee, the DOJ monitors them and sends the state a subsequent-arrest notification if they are later arrested or convicted (Penal Code § 11105.2). A disqualifying record can lead the Department to rescind a previously granted exemption — which reverses that person’s clearance — and the moment clearance is gone, keeping them in contact with children or residents is a violation of your license (child care H&S § 1596.871; RCFE § 1569.17; community care § 1522). Remove the person from client contact immediately, document it, and move on the exemption; if it escalates to an exclusion order (§§ 1558, 1569.58, 1596.8897), a fifteen-day appeal clock starts. If a subsequent-arrest or exemption-rescission notice has landed on one of your staff, a license-defense consultation should review it the same day, because your facility’s exposure begins the moment the clearance drops.
Michael Benavides, Esq. — California child-care & RCFE license defense | CA Bar No. 270714 | Sacramento, Modesto, San Jose, San Francisco & Oakland | 707-362-4166 | attorneymichaelbenavides.com
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. This is a legal-content post from the law practice of Michael Benavides, Esq., California State Bar No. 270714. Ava is an editorial brand voice, not an attorney; only Michael Benavides, Esq. provides legal analysis. General information only — not legal advice; no attorney-client relationship is formed by reading this. Authority referenced (Cal. Penal Code § 11105.2; Cal. Health & Safety Code §§ 1522, 1569.17, 1596.871, 1558, 1569.58, 1596.8897) is as of mid-2026 — confirm current law before acting. Deadlines are strict and fact-specific; if a notice has issued, act immediately. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
