Fair-Chance Law Map: State by State
A printable summary of where each state stands on ban-the-box and fair-chance hiring laws, as of July 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This is not legal advice, and it will go out of date.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 -- 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 guidance discourages blanket "no felons" policies and requires job-relatedness, 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 | |
| Ohio | Public employers only | |
| Oklahoma | Public employers only | |
| Oregon | Private employers covered | No inquiry on initial application. |
| 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 | Public employers only | |
| South Dakota | No state law | |
| Tennessee | Public employers only | |
| Texas | Private employers covered | 15+ employees; no inquiry until candidate is "otherwise qualified." New law, effective September 1, 2025. |
| Utah | Public employers only | |
| Vermont | Private employers covered | No inquiry on initial application. |
| Virginia | Public employers only (for ban-the-box timing) | Separately, Virginia's new Clean Slate Act -- record-sealing, a different kind of protection -- takes effect July 1, 2026, and applies to both public and private employers. |
| Washington | Private employers covered | No inquiry on initial application; strengthened rules (mandatory individualized assessment, delay until conditional offer) phase in for medium/large employers starting July 2026. |
| West Virginia | No state law | |
| Wisconsin | Public employers only | State job applications since 2016. 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. 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: July 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 (effective September 1, 2025) -- coverage confirmed via Forbes and multiple employment-law-firm summaries (Gordon Law, JDP, Dykema)
- Virginia Clean Slate Act coverage (effective July 1, 2026) -- Woods Rogers, Asurint, Clean Slate Virginia
- 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