What an employer may legally ask you about a record, and when

Who is covered

More than 37 states and DC have adopted some form of fair-chance hiring policy. Fourteen states reach private employers: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Texas — the latter effective September 2025 for employers with 15 or more employees.

Twenty-two localities extend their fair-chance rules to private employers, including Austin, Baltimore, Buffalo, Chicago, Columbia, DeSoto, DC, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Montgomery County, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, Prince George's County, Rochester, San Francisco, Seattle, Spokane, St. Louis, Suffolk County, Waterloo and Westchester County.

Local rules are frequently stricter than the state floor, so check both. Philadelphia amended its ordinance effective 6 January 2026, cutting the misdemeanour lookback period from seven years to four. Washington State expanded its law in July 2026 to cover internal promotions and role changes, not just hiring.

What the rules typically require

• §No criminal-history question on the initial application, and often no inquiry until after a conditional offer.
• §An individualised assessment before any adverse decision — considering the nature and gravity of the offence, the time elapsed, and its actual relationship to the specific job.
• §A lookback limit, so older records cannot be considered at all.
• §Written notice identifying the specific record relied on, and a real opportunity for you to respond with context or evidence of error.
• §Exclusion of non-convictions, sealed records and expunged records from consideration entirely.

What every employer owes you, in every state

Separately from state and local rules, the FCRA applies nationwide to any employer using a third-party background check.

• §A standalone written disclosure that a report may be obtained — it may not be buried inside the application.
• §Your written authorisation before the report is pulled.
• §A pre-adverse-action notice including a copy of the report and a summary of your FCRA rights, before the decision is final.
• §A genuine opportunity to respond and correct errors.
• §A final adverse-action notice naming the agency that supplied the report.

How to use this

1. 01Know your jurisdiction before you applyBoth the state rule and the city rule. It tells you when a question is even permitted, and whether an early question was itself unlawful.
2. 02Answer what is actually askedWhere sealed or expunged records are excluded from consideration, you are generally not required to disclose them. Where a lookback limit applies, older records are outside the question.
3. 03If a notice arrives, respond in writing and fastTypically five business days. Dispute errors with the agency, and give the employer the individualised-assessment factors your jurisdiction requires them to weigh.
4. 04Keep the paperworkWhat you received and when, and what you did not receive. Procedural defects are the most provable violations in this area.