Washington state has an existing fair chance law, but the statute, as amended by House Bill 1747, will impose additional obligations on employers that consider criminal records when vetting job applicants or employees. The amended statute takes effect for most employers in July 2026, so employers should plan to update their criminal record screening policies and standard forms of notice.

Expanded Prohibitions

The amended statute will make the following actions unlawful:

• Inquiring about criminal records before first extending a conditional job offer.
• Taking a tangible adverse employment action based on an applicant’s or employee’s arrest record (excluding an adult arrest in which an individual is out on bail or released on their own personal recognizance pending trial) or juvenile conviction record.
• Taking a tangible adverse employment action based on an applicant’s or employee’s adult conviction record, unless the employer has a legitimate business reason for taking such action.

Expanded Obligations

Employers must provide a form of pre-adverse action notice to the applicant or employee before taking a tangible adverse employment action. The notice must inform the applicant or employee of the record on which the employer is relying for the purpose of assessing its legitimate business reason. The employer must hold the position open for a minimum of two business days to provide the applicant or employee a reasonable opportunity to correct or explain the record or to...

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