What changed: background check law updates

Coming

Passed, with a date set. Soonest first.

• October 30, 2026 · New York: New York City: amended Fair Chance rules. The city's Fair Chance rules change: the person gets five business days to respond (up from three), with new per se violations and rules for pending cases and current employees. 47 RCNY §§ 2-01, 2-04 (as amended)
• November 1, 2026 · New Jersey: Expungement for offenses linked to abuse. A person whose offense was linked to domestic violence or substantial abuse may petition to expunge it any time after the sentence ends, with no waiting period. Murder and listed sex offenses are excluded. P.L.2025, c.329; N.J.S.A. 2C:52-5.5
• November 1, 2026 · Oklahoma: Marijuana testing for safety-sensitive jobs. A zero-tolerance standard applies to a listed set of safety-sensitive duties. Employers may take adverse action on a positive marijuana test under a written policy that follows the state testing act, after the ten-day notice of a policy change. HB 3127 (Laws 2026, c. 20); 63 O.S. § 427.8
• December 1, 2026 · Virginia: New expungement rules for charges without conviction. A new version of the expungement law for police and court records of charges that did not end in a conviction takes effect. The employer rule is unchanged. 2026 Va. Acts c. 1127; Va. Code § 19.2-392.2
• January 1, 2027 · Washington: Fair Chance Act reaches employers under 15. The 2025 amendments, already in force for employers with 15 or more employees, reach smaller employers: no criminal record inquiry before a conditional offer, no use of arrest or juvenile records, and notice, a two-business-day hold and a written decision before adverse action. EHB 1747, 2025 c 71; RCW 49.94.010
• January 1, 2027 · Colorado: Rules for automated decision tools in hiring. Employers that use automated decision-making technology in employment decisions must give notice when it is used and, within 30 days after an adverse decision, a plain-language explanation of its role, with data correction and human review. Enforcement is by the Attorney General. SB26-189 (2026 Colo. Sess. Laws ch. 131)
• January 1, 2027 · Illinois: Driver's license requirements in job postings. For employers with 15 or more employees: a job posting may not say a valid driver's license is required unless driving is an essential function and a business necessity, and then must say why. P.A. 104-0776 (Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act, sec. 17)
• January 1, 2027 · Missouri: Automatic expungement deadline. The automatic expungement of eligible drug possession and paraphernalia convictions must be running by this date. SB 1421 (2026); RSMo 610.141.10
• January 1, 2027 · Alaska: Old marijuana possession records withheld. State agencies may not release records of a case where the only conviction was possession of under one ounce of marijuana, by a person 21 or older, if the person asks. SLA 2026 ch. 9 (HB 239); AS 12.62.160(f)
• January 1, 2027 · Ohio: Columbus: pay ranges in postings enforced. Columbus begins enforcing its rule that job postings include a salary range. Columbus City Code § 2335.03(C); Ord. 2898-2025
• September 26, 2027 · Delaware: Pay ranges in job postings. Employers with 26 or more employees must put the pay range and a general description of benefits in every job posting, internal and external. 19 Del. C. § 709C (85 Del. Laws c. 228)
• October 1, 2027 · Connecticut: Notice before using automated hiring tools. An employer that uses an automated tool to make, or as a substantial factor in, an employment decision must first give a written notice: that the tool is used, its purpose, the data it uses and a contact. Enforcement is by the Attorney General. P.A. 26-15, secs. 7-12
• October 1, 2027 · District of Columbia: Automatic sealing deadline. The court must finish automatically sealing eligible non-conviction records and misdemeanor convictions past the 10-year wait. D.C. Code § 16-805(c), as amended by D.C. Law 26-52
• November 16, 2027 · New York: Clean Slate backlog deadline. Courts must finish sealing eligible convictions from before the Clean Slate Act took effect. N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law § 160.57(6)
• January 1, 2029 · Illinois: Automatic sealing begins. Under the Clean Slate Act, eligible records start being sealed automatically, with deadlines through 2034 for older records. P.A. 104-0459; 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(k)
• October 1, 2029 · California: Automatic record relief expands. Automatic arrest relief extends to felony arrests where every charge was dismissed a year or more earlier and nothing was refiled. The state also treats more old convictions as eligible for automatic relief. SB 1342 (Stats. 2026, ch. 702); Penal Code §§ 851.93, 1203.425

In force this past year

Newest first.

• October 1, 2026 · Alabama: State background checks for private employers. Private employers can buy a state criminal background check from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, with the person's express permission, kept for at least three years. The record may not be passed on; misuse is a misdemeanor. Act 2026-374; Ala. Code §§ 41-9-650.1 to 41-9-650.5
• October 1, 2026 · Connecticut: Pay ranges in every job ad. Every internal and public job ad must show the wage or wage range, set in good faith, and a description of benefits. P.A. 26-12, sec. 2; Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-40z
• October 1, 2026 · Maryland: More dispositions can be expunged. A person may petition to expunge cases closed as “no finding” or “terminated without finding.” 2026 Md. Laws chs. 465, 466; Crim. Proc. § 10-110
• August 28, 2026 · Missouri: Limits on reporting expunged and non-conviction records. Screening companies may not report an arrest or conviction once they learn it was pardoned or expunged, or that an arrest did not end in a conviction. Employers may not ask about records expunged automatically. SB 1421 (2026); RSMo 610.143.1, 610.141.1(7)
• July 29, 2026 · Maine: Accuracy rules for screening companies. A business that sells criminal records may report only records updated within 30 days or verified within 90. Each record must carry its collection date and a sealing notice, and sealed or pardoned records found on dispute must be deleted. 10 M.R.S. ch. 247 (§§ 1500-OO to 1500-QQ)
• July 1, 2026 · Virginia: Salary history ban and pay ranges. No employer may seek or rely on a prospective employee's wage history. Every job, promotion and transfer posting must state the pay or pay range. 2026 Va. Acts c. 996; Va. Code § 40.1-28.7:12
• July 1, 2026 · Virginia: Sealing law in force. Listed misdemeanor convictions are sealed automatically after seven years, and others by petition. Employers may not ask about sealed records, and screening companies must delete them and register for sealing notices. Va. Code §§ 19.2-392.5, 19.2-392.6, 19.2-392.16
• July 1, 2026 · Washington: Fair Chance Act amendments, 15 or more employees. For employers with 15 or more employees: no inquiry until a conditional offer, no use of arrest or juvenile records, and a two-business-day hold and written decision before adverse action. EHB 1747, 2025 c 71; RCW 49.94.010
• July 1, 2026 · Georgia: First offender records sealed at sentencing. Courts restrict and seal first offender records at sentencing, and the state may not give them to private requesters. HB 162 (2026 Ga. Laws Act 403)
• July 1, 2026 · Mississippi: Shorter wait to expunge a felony. A person may petition to expunge an eligible felony 3 years after completing the sentence, down from 5. HB 1546 (2026); Miss. Code Ann. § 99-19-71(2)(a)
• July 1, 2026 · Oklahoma: Clean Slate sealing. Eligible records are sealed without a court petition, subject to funding. Employers may not require an applicant to disclose sealed records. 22 O.S. §§ 18b, 19
• July 1, 2026 · Florida: Care provider screening clearinghouse. Entities in the Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse may see sealed and expunged records, and state law now spells out how those records are disclosed to them. Ch. 2026-114, Laws of Fla.
• April 18, 2026 · New York: Statewide ban on credit checks for employment. New York employers may not request or use an applicant's or employee's consumer credit history for employment purposes, with listed exceptions. L. 2025 ch. 681; N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 380-b(d)
• March 20, 2026 · Ohio: Cannabis law rewritten. The employer rules now cover marijuana generally: employers need not accommodate use, may refuse to hire or discipline for it, and may keep testing and zero-tolerance policies. S.B. 56 (136th G.A.); R.C. 3796.28
• October 27, 2025 · Delaware: No medical debt in consumer reports. Medical debt may not be reported to a consumer reporting agency or included in a consumer report. 6 Del. C. § 2507J

Older rules, and everything in force, are on each state page.

About this log

The log lists changes that affect private employers. Rules that bind only public employers, licensing boards or a city’s own contractors appear on the state pages.

Last updated October 21, 2026 · General information, not legal advice.