State law · For employers
Alaska background check laws for employers
What Alaska law says about background checks for employment, beyond the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Each section shows the rule, who it covers, its exceptions and the law it comes from.
Reviewed
Primary sources
9 laws cited
At a glance
The Alaska rules on each topic, in one line. Federal law applies to every topic.
| Topic | Alaska rule |
|---|---|
| Criminal history questions | No state rule. Federal law applies. |
| Limits on what a report includes | No state rule. Federal law applies. |
| Sealed and expunged records | Alaska has no general sealing or expungement of convictions and no automatic relief. |
| Credit checks | No state rule. Federal law applies. |
| Salary history | No state rule. Federal law applies. |
| Cannabis | No employment protection. The adult-use statute states that nothing in it requires an employer to permit or accommodate marijuana use, possession, transfer, display, transportation, sale, or growing in the workplace, or affects employers’ ability to have… |
| Drug testing procedures | AS 23.10.600 to 23.10.699 is a voluntary safe-harbor law. Compliance is voluntary, but an employer that follows it is shielded from damages for good-faith actions on test results, and from most defamation claims. |
| State consumer reporting law | No state rule. Federal law applies. |
Sealed and expunged records
Who it covers: The Alaska Court System and criminal justice agencies; no direct employer rule.
Alaska has no general sealing or expungement of convictions and no automatic relief. Two narrower rules exist. AS 22.35.030: the Alaska Court System may not publish a criminal case record on a public website once 60 days have passed after an acquittal or dismissal, where the defendant was acquitted of all charges, all charges were dismissed (other than as part of a Rule 11 plea deal in another case), the mix of acquittals and dismissals covers every charge, or all charges were dismissed after a suspended entry of judgment under AS 12.55.078. AS 12.62.160(b)(8): the Department of Public Safety repository may not release nonconviction information or correctional treatment information to the general public. Neither statute tells employers what they may ask or consider.
Exceptions
- Records remain available to criminal justice agencies, to persons specifically authorized by law, and for determining whether to give a person supervisory or disciplinary power over a minor or dependent adult (AS 12.62.160(b)(4), (6), (9)).
Cannabis use and testing
Who it covers: All Alaska employers.
No employment protection. The adult-use statute states that nothing in it requires an employer to permit or accommodate marijuana use, possession, transfer, display, transportation, sale, or growing in the workplace, or affects employers’ ability to have policies restricting marijuana use by employees. The medical marijuana chapter likewise requires no accommodation of medical use in any place of employment. Employers may test for THC and act on results.
Drug and alcohol testing procedures
Who it covers: Any Alaska employer that chooses to test under the chapter.
AS 23.10.600 to 23.10.699 is a voluntary safe-harbor law. Compliance is voluntary, but an employer that follows it is shielded from damages for good-faith actions on test results, and from most defamation claims. The employer may test only after adopting a written policy and informing employees, and must tell prospective employees that they must undergo drug testing. The policy must identify which employees or positions are tested, and testing may not start until at least 30 days after employees are notified. The policy must state the employer’s position on drug and alcohol use; who is subject to testing; the circumstances; the substances; methods and collection procedures, including the right to a confirmatory test reviewed by a licensed physician after an initial positive; consequences of refusal; adverse actions; the right to written results within five working days of a written request made within six months of the test; the right to explain a positive result in a confidential setting within 72 hours of a written request made within 10 working days, or before adverse action; and confidentiality. Samples may be urine, oral fluid, or breath, for any job-related purpose consistent with business necessity, including applicant testing, impairment investigation, accidents, and random testing. The employer pays the full cost of tests for employees and prospective employees. Labs must be SAMHSA- or CAP-certified, a positive must be confirmed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry, and the employer may not rely on a positive until a licensed physician or osteopath reviews it. On-site tests must use FDA-approved products and trained, certified administrators; no permanent action may rest on an unconfirmed on-site screen. A positive test or a refusal to give a sample may support refusal to hire. Results are confidential and privileged.
Exceptions
- Compliance is voluntary; an employer cannot be sued merely because it has no testing program (AS 23.10.600(e), 23.10.615).
- An employer bound by a state or federal testing mandate gets the chapter’s benefits if it follows that mandate (AS 23.10.670).
AS 23.10.615 · AS 23.10.620(a) · AS 23.10.620(a) · AS 23.10.630(d) · AS 23.10.640(d) · AS 23.10.620(e) · AS 23.10.655(b)(4)
Where federal law alone applies
We found no Alaska rule for private employers on these topics. The FCRA and other federal laws still apply.
- Criminal history questions
- Limits on what a report includes
- Credit checks
- Salary history
- State consumer reporting law
Coming changes
Laws already passed that take effect later.
- From January 1, 2027. SLA 2026 ch. 9 (HB 239), secs. 56-57, amend AS 12.62.160(b)(8) and add 12.62.160(f): criminal justice agencies may not release records of a case in which the defendant was convicted under AS 11.71.060 (or a similar ordinance) of possessing less than one ounce of a schedule VIA substance (marijuana), was 21 or older, was convicted of nothing else in the case, and asks that the records not be released. Sec. 87 repeals the request condition (12.62.160(f)(4)) on January 1, 2028, so the bar then applies without a request. Limits what the state repository releases; it does not tell employers what to ask.
SLA 2026, ch. 9 (HB 239), secs. 56, 57, 87, 92, 93; became law without signature June 18, 2026
Every state’s changes, in date order: What changed.
Adverse action notices
Before you reject or act against someone because of a background check report, the FCRA requires a pre-adverse action notice, a wait, and then a final notice. The adverse action letter generator writes both notices and adds the Alaska requirements where they apply.
The waiting period calculator gives the date under the federal rule.
Paperwork at hire
Besides the federal Form I-9 and W-4, Alaska sets these for each new hire.
- State withholding. Alaska has no state income tax on wages, so there is no state withholding certificate to collect.
- New hire report. Report each new hire to Alaska within 20 days. State new hire reporting
- Notices at hire. Paid sick leave written notice; Notice of wage payments (rate of pay, payday, place of payment).
Build the new hire checklist for Alaska, with city rules, special cases and a due date for each item.
Sources
- AS 22.35.030
- AS 12.62.160(b)(8)
- AS 17.38.220(a)
- AS 17.37.040(d)(1)
- AS 23.10.615
- AS 23.10.620(a)
- AS 23.10.630(d)
- AS 23.10.640(d)
- AS 23.10.655(b)(4)
Last reviewed · General information, not legal advice.
After the hire
Once a background check clears, payroll and onboarding come next. Rippling (paid link) runs payroll, benefits and onboarding from one employee record.