Washington Attorney General Publishes Fair Chance Act Employer Guide as Amended Law Takes Effect

On July 1, 2026, the 2025 amendments to the Washington State Fair Chance Act took effect for employers with 15 or more employees. The amendments impose additional requirements on employers regarding the types of criminal history information they can consider, as well as when in the hiring process those inquiries are made and how criminal history information is reviewed. Coinciding with the law’s implementation, the Washington State attorney general published its respective guide for employers and applicants. 

As we previously discussed in our LawFlash, Minneapolis and Washington State Impose “Fair Chance” Requirements on Employers That Consider Criminal History, Washington State amended its Fair Chance Act (FCA) in 2025, and those amendments took effect on July 1, 2026 for employers with 15 or more employees. For employers with fewer than 15 employees, the amendments will take effect on January 1, 2027.

Among other changes, the amended FCA delays criminal history inquiries until after a conditional offer of employment, requires employers to conduct and document an individualized assessment before taking adverse action based on conviction history, and imposes new notice and disclosure obligations during the hiring process. The amendments also significantly increase civil penalties for noncompliance and expand the procedural requirements applicable to employers that consider criminal history in employment decisions.

Coinciding with the July 1, 2026 effective date, the Washington Attorney General’s Office published its Washington Fair Chance Act Guide for Employers and Applicants (Guide), which employers must provide a copy of in certain circumstances described below. The publication of the Guide clarifies one aspect of employers’ new notice obligations under the amended FCA. However, additional implementation guidance remains outstanding.

FAIR CHANCE ACT EMPLOYER GUIDE SATISFIES KEY EMPLOYER NOTICE REQUIREMENT

The amended FCA requires employers to provide applicants with (1) a written notice summarizing the FCA and (2) a copy of the Attorney General’s Fair Chance Act Guide when either

• the employer informs an applicant that the position will be subject to a post-offer criminal history background check before extending a conditional offer; or
• an applicant voluntarily discloses information about their criminal history during a job interview.

The attorney general has now published the required Guide, which explains the amended FCA’s principal requirements, including restrictions on pre-offer criminal history inquiries, the prohibition on categorical exclusions based on criminal history, the individualized assessment and notice requirements before taking adverse action, and the protections afforded to applicants and employees under the statute. The Guide also reiterates the requirements that apply when an applicant voluntarily discloses criminal history during an interview and explains the complaint process administered by the Attorney General’s Office.

Covered employers should ensure they are using the attorney general’s current Guide whenever the statute requires it.

KEY IMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCE REMAINS OUTSTANDING

Although publication of the Guide answers one important implementation question, employers continue to lack several compliance resources contemplated by the amended statute. In particular, the attorney general has not yet issued a model written notice summarizing the Fair Chance Act that employers must provide alongside the Guide; or a model individualized assessment form that employers may use when documenting the required legitimate business reason analysis before taking adverse action based on conviction history.

The absence of these model forms means employers must continue developing and evaluating their own notices and individualized assessment documentation to satisfy the amended FCA’s requirements. Until further guidance is issued, employers should review their hiring and background screening processes to ensure they comply with the statute while remaining flexible enough to incorporate future guidance from the attorney general.

TAKEAWAYS FOR EMPLOYERS

• Incorporate the attorney general’s published Fair Chance Act Guide into hiring workflows where required.
• Implement procedures to provide the required written disclosures before conducting post-offer criminal history inquiries or upon voluntary disclosure in the circumstances specified by the statute.
• Use individualized assessment documentation that addresses each of the statutory factors required by the amended FCA.
• Continue monitoring for additional guidance from the Washington attorney general, including the anticipated model notice and individualized assessment form.