State law · For employers
Wyoming background check laws for employers
What Wyoming 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
1 law cited
At a glance
The Wyoming rules on each topic, in one line. Federal law applies to every topic.
| Topic | Wyoming 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 | No automatic clean-slate law. Three petition routes exist. |
| Credit checks | No state rule. Federal law applies. |
| Salary history | No state rule. Federal law applies. |
| Cannabis | No state rule. Federal law applies. |
| Drug testing procedures | No state rule. Federal law applies. |
| State consumer reporting law | No state rule. Federal law applies. |
Sealed and expunged records
Who it covers: Expunged records are limited to criminal-justice dissemination at the Division of Criminal Investigation; the applicant may deny an expunged arrest or charge.
No automatic clean-slate law. Three petition routes exist. Arrest, charge, and dismissal records may be expunged 180 days after the arrest or dismissal if no charges are pending (§ 7-13-1401). Misdemeanor convictions may be expunged five years after the sentence ends (one year for status offenses), excluding firearm offenses (§ 7-13-1501). Certain felony convictions may be expunged ten years after the sentence, restitution, and programs are complete, for a first felony, excluding violent felonies and most firearm felonies (§ 7-13-1502). After an arrest-record expungement the person may answer any inquiry as though the arrest or charge did not occur. The conviction-expungement sections (§§ 7-13-1501, -1502) contain no matching right to deny the conviction.
Exceptions
- Misdemeanors involving use or attempted use of a firearm; health-care providers convicted of abuse of a patient (§ 7-13-1501).
- Violent felonies and felonies involving a firearm (other than Title 23 game offenses); a person may receive only one felony expungement (§ 7-13-1502).
- A second misdemeanor expungement is not allowed (§ 7-13-1501(k)).
Wyo. Stat. § 7-13-1401(f) · Wyo. Stat. § 7-13-1501(a)(i) · Wyo. Stat. § 7-13-1502(a)(i)-(ii)
Where federal law alone applies
We found no Wyoming 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
- Cannabis
- Drug testing procedures
- State consumer reporting law
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 Wyoming 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, Wyoming sets these for each new hire.
- State withholding. Wyoming has no state income tax, so there is no state withholding certificate. Collect only the federal Form W-4.
- New hire report. Report each new hire to Wyoming within 20 days. State new hire reporting
- Notices at hire. Wyoming adds none beyond the federal forms that every employer gives.
Build the new hire checklist for Wyoming, with city rules, special cases and a due date for each item.
Sources
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.