Since jQuery always seems to return the color like rgb(r, g, b) for elements that have no alpha, you could simply use:

$(this).css('background-color').replace(')', ', 0.75)').replace('rgb', 'rgba');

Just make sure the background color isn't rgba already:

var bg = $(this).css('background-color');
if(bg.indexOf('a') == -1){
    var result = bg.replace(')', ', 0.75)').replace('rgb', 'rgba');
}

//If you write your own code, remember hex color shortcuts (eg., #fff, #000)

function hexToRgbA(hex){
    var c;
    if(/^#([A-Fa-f0-9]{3}){1,2}$/.test(hex)){
        c= hex.substring(1).split('');
        if(c.length== 3){
            c= [c[0], c[0], c[1], c[1], c[2], c[2]];
        }
        c= '0x'+c.join('');
        return 'rgba('+[(c>>16)&255, (c>>8)&255, c&255].join(',')+',1)';
    }
    throw new Error('Bad Hex');
}

hexToRgbA('#fbafff')

/*  returned value: (String)
rgba(251,175,255,1)
*/

My version of hex2rbg:

1. Accept short hex like #fff
2. Algorithm compacity is o(n), should faster than using regex. e.g String.replace, String.split, String.match etc..
3. Use constant space.
4. Support rgb and rgba.

you may need remove hex.trim() if you are using IE8.

e.g.

hex2rgb('#fff') //rgb(255,255,255) 
hex2rgb('#fff', 1) //rgba(255,255,255,1) 
hex2rgb('#ffffff') //rgb(255,255,255)  
hex2rgb('#ffffff', 1) //rgba(255,255,255,1)

code:

function hex2rgb (hex, opacity) {
    hex = hex.trim();
    hex = hex[0] === '#' ? hex.substr(1) : hex;
    var bigint = parseInt(hex, 16), h = [];
    if (hex.length === 3) {
        h.push((bigint >> 4) & 255);
        h.push((bigint >> 2) & 255);
    } else {
        h.push((bigint >> 16) & 255);
        h.push((bigint >> 8) & 255);
    }
    h.push(bigint & 255);
    if (arguments.length === 2) {
        h.push(opacity);
        return 'rgba('+h.join()+')';
    } else {
        return 'rgb('+h.join()+')';
    }
}