A printable summary of where each state stands on ban-the-box and fair-chance hiring laws, researched July 2026, with corrections as of September 2026.
This is not legal advice, and it will go out of date. Fair-chance and ban-the-box laws change constantly. New states and cities pass them every year, and existing laws get amended or expanded. Many cities and counties have their own ordinances that go further than their state's law, so a state-level summary can miss protection you actually have where you live. Before you rely on anything below, verify the current status for your specific state and city. Your local Equal Rights Division, Department of Labor, or a legal aid organization can confirm it. This page is a starting point for a conversation with someone qualified, not a substitute for one.
The Three Categories
- Private employers covered: state law limits what private employers can ask about your record, and/or when they can ask it (not just government jobs).
- Public employers only: the state's law or executive order covers government hiring, but private employers in that state are not required to follow it.
- No state law: no statewide ban-the-box or fair-chance law found as of this writing. Some cities/counties in these states may still have their own local ordinances, so check your city.
Two additional notes worth knowing:
- Some states listed as "private employers covered" don't delay when an employer can ask (a true "ban the box" law). Instead they restrict how your record can be used, requiring an individualized, job-relevance assessment before you can be turned down (for example: New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin's own standard, Louisiana). Both approaches are real protection, just different mechanisms.
- Federal law applies everywhere, regardless of state: the EEOC's 2012 guidance discourages blanket "no felons" policies and calls for job-relatedness (since 2025 the EEOC has stepped back from these cases, so as of September 2026 your state or city civil rights agency is usually the better place to file), and the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires notice and a chance to respond before a background check can cost you a job offer. See the full guide for how that process works.
State-by-State Summary
| State | Status | Key Details |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No state law | Check for local city ordinances. |
| Alaska | No state law | |
| Arizona | Public employers only | |
| Arkansas | No state law | |
| California | Private employers covered | 5+ employees; no inquiry until after conditional offer; individualized assessment required (Fair Chance Act). |
| Colorado | Private employers covered | No inquiry on initial application. |
| Connecticut | Private employers covered | No inquiry on initial application. |
| Delaware | Public employers only | |
| District of Columbia | Private employers covered | 11+ employees; no inquiry until after conditional offer. |
| Florida | No state law | Some cities (e.g., Tampa) have local ordinances; check locally. |
| Georgia | Public employers only | Executive-branch state jobs only, by executive order. |
| Hawaii | Private employers covered | No inquiry until after conditional offer. |
| Idaho | No state law | |
| Illinois | Private employers covered | 15+ employees; no inquiry until candidate is selected for interview. |
| Indiana | Public employers only | Executive branch. |
| Iowa | No state law | Some cities (e.g., Des Moines) have local ordinances; check locally. |
| Kansas | Public employers only | Executive-branch agencies. |
| Kentucky | Public employers only | Executive branch. |
| Louisiana | Private employers covered | 20+ employees; individualized job-relevance assessment required (not a timing-delay law). |
| Maine | Private employers covered | No inquiry on initial application. |
| Maryland | Private employers covered | 15+ employees; no inquiry before the first in-person interview. |
| Massachusetts | Private employers covered | 6+ employees; no inquiry on initial written application. |
| Michigan | Public employers only | State executive branch; Detroit has its own local ordinance covering private employers with 4+ employees. |
| Minnesota | Private employers covered | No inquiry until interview or conditional offer. |
| Mississippi | No state law | |
| Missouri | Public employers only | Executive branch; Kansas City and St. Louis have local ordinances covering private employers. |
| Montana | No state law | |
| Nebraska | Public employers only | |
| Nevada | Public employers only | |
| New Hampshire | Public employers only | |
| New Jersey | Private employers covered | 15+ employees (20+ weeks/year); no inquiry until after the interview. |
| New Mexico | Private employers covered | No inquiry on initial application. |
| New York | Private employers covered | 10+ employees; statewide individualized-assessment standard (Correction Law Article 23-A), not a timing-delay law. New York City has its own separate, stronger ban-the-box ordinance. |
| North Carolina | Public employers only | |
| North Dakota | Public employers only | Public employers can't ask until you're selected for an interview (N.D.C.C. 12.1-33-02.2, since 2019). |
| Ohio | Public employers only | |
| Oklahoma | Public employers only | |
| Oregon | Private employers covered | Can't make you disclose a conviction on the application or before the first interview (or before a conditional offer if there's no interview). |
| Pennsylvania | Private employers covered | Statewide job-relevance restriction (Criminal History Record Information Act), not a timing-delay law. Philadelphia has its own separate, stronger local ban-the-box ordinance. |
| Rhode Island | Private employers covered | 4+ employees; no inquiry on initial written application. |
| South Carolina | No state law | Ban-the-box bills keep dying in committee (2025 H. 3775). |
| South Dakota | No state law | |
| Tennessee | Public employers only | |
| Texas | No state law | Austin has a local ordinance; check locally. A 2025 bill (HB 2466) died in committee and did not become law. |
| Utah | Public employers only | |
| Vermont | Private employers covered | No inquiry on initial application. |
| Virginia | Public employers only (for ban-the-box timing) | Separately, under Virginia's Clean Slate law (since July 1, 2026), most employers can't make you disclose a record that has been sealed. It doesn't stop them from asking about unsealed records. |
| Washington | Private employers covered | Can't ask or run a background check until after a conditional job offer (employers with 15+ employees since July 1, 2026; all employers from January 1, 2027); can't advertise "no felons"; can't act on arrest records or juvenile records (EHB 1747, Ch. 71, Laws of 2025). |
| West Virginia | No state law | |
| Wisconsin | Public employers only | State civil service applications since 2016 (2015 Wisconsin Act 150). Madison also makes companies with certain city contracts wait until after a conditional offer. Private employers can ask at any stage, but Wisconsin's Fair Employment Act separately limits how a conviction can be used against you (see the Disclosure Planning guide and the full Fair Chance & Ban-the-Box Laws guide for the "substantially related" standard). |
| Wyoming | No state law |
Want the Full Picture?
This one-pager is a quick-reference summary. The full guide covers federal protections in depth, what "individualized assessment" actually requires, how to file a complaint if your rights are violated, and Wisconsin's specific legal standard in detail.
Read the complete Fair Chance & Ban-the-Box Laws guide →
Need your resume built while you sort out timing? Try Forge free →
Disclaimer: This is general information only, not legal advice, and reflects research as of July 2026, with the Texas, South Carolina, North Dakota, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin rows corrected in September 2026. Fair-chance and ban-the-box laws change often, and many cities have local ordinances beyond what's listed here. Verify the current status for your state and city before relying on it. Consult a licensed attorney for your specific situation. Steel Man Resumes is not a law firm, and no attorney-client relationship is created by reading this content.
Last Updated: September 2026
Sources:
- National Employment Law Project, "Ban the Box: U.S. Cities, Counties, and States Adopt Fair Hiring Policies," nelp.org
- Outten & Golden LLP, "Fair Chance Hiring Laws by State," outtengolden.com
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, "Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII" (2012)
- Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2019 (federal contractors/agencies, effective December 2021)
- Texas HB 2466: did not pass; last action March 17, 2025, referred to subcommittee (Texas Legislature Online, checked September 26, 2026)
- Virginia Code 19.2-392.15 (Clean Slate, effective July 1, 2026): Virginia Legislative Information System and Virginia DOLI
- Washington EHB 1747 (Chapter 71, Laws of 2025)
- North Dakota Century Code 12.1-33-02.2; South Carolina H. 3775 (2025) bill history
- New York Correction Law Article 23-A: New York State Department of Labor and Division of Criminal Justice Services guidance
- Pennsylvania Criminal History Record Information Act (CHRIA), 18 Pa.C.S. § 9124: Fisher Phillips, Margolis Edelstein, Barley Snyder (Third Circuit, Phath v. Central Transport)
- Louisiana R.S. 23:291.2 (Act 406, effective August 2021): Ogletree Deakins, Seyfarth Shaw, Phelps
- Michigan Executive Directive 2018-4 and Detroit Fair Chance Ordinance: GCheck, USA Background
- Georgia executive order on state hiring (2015): National Employment Law Project, National Law Review
- Wisconsin Fair Employment Act, Wis. Stat. § 111.335: see the full Fair Chance & Ban-the-Box Laws guide for detailed sourcing
- Cross-referenced against iprospectcheck, FindLaw, and World Population Review state-law summaries (2026); flagged and resolved discrepancies between sources through direct research where they disagreed