How Local Fair Chance Hiring Laws Are Evolving in 2025

Much like many of the labor ordinances passed by local governments over the last year or so, across the country, “ban-the-box” and related fair chance hiring policies have evolved from their early iterations to a common feature of the state and local labor landscape. Hawaii adopted the first statewide ban-the-box law in 1998, and large cities such as San Francisco and New York City followed in the 2010s with ordinances that delayed criminal history questions, narrowed what employers could consider, and required more structured decision-making.

Since then, adoption has expanded significantly. At least 35 states and more than 150 cities and counties now have some form of ban-the-box or fair chance policy, covering a large majority of the U.S. population and, in many cases, extending to private employers.

Philadelphia is among the cities now updating earlier frameworks. In September 2025, the City Council unanimously approved amendments to its Fair Chance Hiring law, first enacted in 2011. The updates shorten the lookback period for many misdemeanor convictions, prohibit employers from considering summary offenses, clarify that all sources of criminal history information are covered (including driving records), and add more detailed requirements for individualized assessments and adverse-action notices. New provisions also strengthen anti-retaliation protections. The amendments take effect in January 2026 and are part of other labor-focused policies the Council has approved this year.

In Spokane, Washington, local leaders have focused on address-based barriers. In April 2025, the City Council approved the “Ban the Address” Fair Chance Hiring Ordinance. The law, described as the first in the country to target address bias in hiring, prohibits employers from asking about an applicant’s address or housing history until after making a provisional job offer. The ordinance is intended to prevent applicants who list shelter addresses, P.O. boxes, or other nontraditional addresses from being screened out before their qualifications are considered, and it operates alongside the city’s existing fair chance hiring protections.

Older local examples include:

• Washington, DC’s Fair Criminal Record Screening Act, which limits when most employers can inquire about criminal history and authorizes civil penalties for violations. The law has made enforcement and complaint resolution a more visible part of the city’s fair chance framework.
• Seattle’s Fair Chance Employment Ordinance restricts criminal history inquiries early in the hiring process and requires that any consideration of records be tied to the duties of the position. Related housing measures apply similar concepts to rental decisions, echoing interest in background screening beyond employment.
• Austin’s 2016 law made it the first city in the South to adopt a ban-the-box ordinance covering many private employers. The policy extended fair chance requirements beyond public hiring and offered an early model for other jurisdictions in the region considering similar measures.

The shift to more comprehensive policies, especially at the local level, moves the needle from simply removing a checkbox on job applications to defining more detailed rules for how and when background information can be used. These new laws see cities refining lookback periods, clarifying covered information, building out enforcement mechanisms, and, in Spokane’s case, adding address and housing status to the conversation. As additional localities update their ordinances or consider new measures, this policy area will remain an important area to watch for employers and stakeholders monitoring changes in labor standards and hiring practices.