Washington’s Fair Chance Act has limited when employers can ask about criminal history (i.e., conduct background checks) since 2018. But 2025 amendments to the law go further. Enacted as EHB 1747, the changes do not replace the original law so much as expand it: the earlier statute focused mainly on when employers could seek criminal-record information, while the amendments add rules about when employers may act on that information and what process they must follow first. The new requirements apply beginning July 1, 2026, for employers with 15 or more employees, and January 1, 2027, for employers with fewer than 15 employees.
Before these amendments, Washington law generally prohibited employers from asking about criminal history on the application, making verbal or written inquiries about criminal history, receiving information through a background check, or otherwise obtaining criminal-record information until the employer had first determined that the applicant was otherwise qualified for the job. The 2018 law also prohibited ads that excluded people with criminal records and barred policies that automatically screened out applicants with criminal records before that initial qualification determination.
Conditional Offer. Under the amended law, it is no longer enough that the applicant is “otherwise qualified.” Now, the employer must also make an offer of employment conditioned on obtaining the applicant’s criminal record before it may ask about or obtain that information. In other words, the law moves the criminal-history inquiry point from the “otherwise qualified” stage to the conditional-offer stage.
Scope. The 2018 law mainly addressed early-stage screening. The amended law expressly reaches broader employment decisions. It now prohibits employers from maintaining policies or practices that automatically or categorically exclude people with criminal records from any employment position, and it bars employers from rejecting an applicant for failing to disclose a criminal record before a conditional offer. The statute also defines “tangible adverse employment action” to include rejecting an otherwise qualified applicant, as well as terminating, suspending, disciplining, demoting, or denying promotion to an employee.
Treatment. Employers may not take a tangible adverse employment action based on an arrest record or a juvenile conviction record, except in the narrow circumstances of an adult arrest where the person is out on bail or released on personal recognizance pending trial. When an employer relies solely on an adult conviction record, it may do so only if it has a “legitimate business reason,” which the statute ties to a documented, good-faith assessment of factors such as to the seriousness of the conduct, the number and types of convictions, the time since conviction, rehabilitation information, and the specific duties and setting of the job.
Process. Before taking action based on an adult conviction record, the employer must identify the record it is relying on and give the applicant or employee a reasonable opportunity to correct or explain the record or provide information about rehabilitation, good conduct, work experience, education, and training. The employer must hold the position open for at least two business days during that process. If the employer still decides to move forward, it must provide a written decision documenting its reasoning and assessment of the relevant factors.
Additional Changes. The amendments also add anti-retaliation protection for employees who, in good faith, report or discuss suspected violations. And if criminal history comes up earlier in the hiring process because the employer accurately discloses that the job will be subject to a post-offer background check, or because the applicant voluntarily raises the issue during an interview, the employer must immediately provide written notice of the law’s requirements and a copy of the Attorney General’s Fair Chance Act guide. The law also adds a new exemption for positions involving work under a federal contract that specifically bars people with criminal records from working under that contract.
Enforcement Changes. Under the 2018 law, the Attorney General had to use a stepped approach: notice and agency assistance for a first violation, a penalty of up to $750 for a second violation, and up to $1,000 for later violations. The amended law allows the Attorney General to waive penalties for first-time or de minimis violations but otherwise raises maximum penalties to $1,500 for a first violation, $3,000 for a second, and $15,000 for each subsequent violation. Those penalties are assessed per aggrieved applicant, employee, or other party for each violation, and the Attorney General may also pursue unpaid wages, damages, fees, and costs.
TL/DR. The practical takeaway is straightforward: Washington’s original Fair Chance Act was largely about when employers could ask about criminal history. The 2025 amendments make the law just as much about when employers may reject, discipline, terminate, or otherwise act on that information, and what notice, documentation, and individualized assessment must come first. For employers, that means the phase-in period should be used to update applications, interview practices, background-check workflows, adverse-action templates, and internal decision standards before the new requirements begin applying.
This post is for general informational purposes and is not legal advice.
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