2026 marks a series of newly enacted laws taking effect across the country. Employers must adapt quickly to ensure compliance and maintain fair hiring practices. Below are the most significant changes taking effect this year.

District of Columbia: Second Chance Law (Effective January 1, 2026)

  • Automatic sealing of decriminalized offenses (such as pre-2015 marijuana convictions) and various older convictions.
  • Petition avenues for sealing additional convictions.
  • Employers are not permitted to access or act on any records sealed under this new law.

Philadelphia: Criminal Record Screening Amendment (Effective January 6, 2026)

  • Look-back periods cut; only felonies within the past 7 years and misdemeanors within the last 4 years are eligible for consideration, while minor offenses (summaries/infractions) are entirely excluded.
  • Requires “pre-adverse action notices” over a ten-day candidate response period, and robust documentation, even extending the 90-day protection against adverse action following protected activity.

New York State: Credit-Check Ban (Effective April 18, 2026)

  • Employers, including staffing firms, cannot request or use any “consumer credit history” for hiring, promotion, compensation, or other employment decisions, unless a statutory exemption applies.
  • This statewide ban aligns with New York City’s Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act (SCDEA), extending similar protections across the entire state.
  • The expansive definition of “credit history” covers credit reports, scores, credit accounts, and payment histories and, similar to the SCDEA, it likely prohibits searches of public records for bankruptcies, judgments, and tax liens unless an exemption applies.

Washington State: Fair Chance Enhancements (Effective July 1, 2026)

  • Employers with 15+ employees must wait until “after extending a conditional job offer” to inquire about criminal history; this rule extends to all employers by January 1, 2027.
  • Arrests, juvenile convictions, and non-conviction adult records are off-limits in hiring decisions. Only relevant adult convictions may be considered and only with a documented legitimate business justification, accompanied by a written notice and at least two business days for a candidate’s response.

Virginia: Clean Slate Law (Effective July 1, 2026)

  • Numerous misdemeanors and low-level felonies will be “automatically sealed” disappearing from standard background checks.
  • Employers and screening vendors are expressly barred from reporting or considering such sealed convictions in hiring decisions

San Francisco: Updated Fair Chance Poster

The City and County of San Francisco issued a revised version of its Fair Chance Ordinance (FCO) notice poster, replacing the prior version released in 2023. The updates include changes to official contact information and a Vietnamese-language translation, in addition to English, Spanish, Chinese, and Tagalog. The updated poster can be found here.

 

Disclaimer: This communication is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The summary provided in this alert does not, and cannot, cover in detail what employers need to know about the amendments to the Philadelphia Fair Chance Law or how to incorporate its requirements into their hiring process. No recipient should act or refrain from acting based on any information provided here without advice from a qualified attorney licensed in the applicable jurisdiction.