News & Analysis as of August 2, 2025

State Labor Laws

+ Follow

Hiring & Firing refers to the process of recruiting, interviewing and offering employment and the process of evaluating performance and dismissing employees. Hiring & Firing is a highly regulated area and can create tremendous liability for employers who fail to properly adhere to acceptable employment practices. Some of the potential pitfalls in this area stem from discriminatory hiring practices, improper performance evaluations, and retaliatory firings. less -

2025 Legislative Developments Affecting Washington Employers

Foster Garvey PC on 7/31/2025

Washington employers face a wave of new workplace legislation, some of which recently became effective and some that will begin in 2026 and beyond. These new or modified laws address a broad range of topics, many of which...more

Washington Further Limits Criminal Background Checks in the Workplace: An Employer’s Guide and Compliance Action Plan

Fisher Phillips on 7/31/2025

A new Washington law expands protections for job applicants and employees under the state’s Fair Chance Act, aligning the statewide law more closely with Seattle’s Fair Chance Employment Ordinance. Notably, employers will...more

Recently Passed Employment Laws Will Significantly Impact Washington Employers

Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani on 7/2/2025

Recently, Washington State legislators passed several new and amended employment bills, which Governor Ferguson signed, enhancing protections for employees and increasing potential liability for employers. Employers need to...more

Washington Employers: Prepare Now for Sweeping Changes to State Employment Laws Starting July 2025

Buchalter on 6/19/2025

The Washington State Legislature has passed a sweeping package of labor and employment laws that will significantly impact businesses with employees working in the State of Washington. These new laws, several of which become...more

Salmon, Butter Pats and Vinyl: Washington State’s Newest Invention Will Be More Burdensome Background Check Requirements

BakerHostetler on 5/13/2025

In 1903, Edmund Smith invented the Automated Fish Cleaner. This glorious machine could gut, clean and can a salmon 55 times faster than a human could. ...more

Washington’s Fair Chance Act: New Amendments Transform Employer Background Check Policies

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 5/6/2025

In 2018, Washington enacted a Fair Chance Act, requiring covered employers to wait until after considering an applicant to be “otherwise qualified” for the position at issue to inquire about or consider criminal history when...more

California Employment News: Fair Chance Act – A Brief Overview of Employment Criminal Background Checks

Weintraub Tobin on 4/22/2025

In this installment of California Employment News, Ryan Abernethy and Nikki Mahmoudi provide an essential overview of California’s Fair Chance Act—also known as the Ban the Box law. Learn what employers need to know about...more

San Diego County Adopts Fair Chance Ordinance for Unincorporated Areas: What Employers Need to Know

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 10/22/2024

Following the lead of other California cities and counties, the County of San Diego recently passed a local fair chance ordinance restricting the use of criminal history in employment decisions. Effective October 10,...more

County of Los Angeles Enacts Fair Chance Ordinance New Hiring Requirements for Employers

IR Global on 8/2/2024

What is this about? On February 27, 2024, the County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors voted to adopt the County’s Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers (FCO). The FCO aligns with the California Fair Chance Act (FCA),...more

Employers Face Onerous Compliance Obligations Under the New Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 8/1/2024

Effective September 3, 2024, employers with locations or employees (including remote workers) in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County (ULAC) will be subject to a new Fair Chance Ordinance. To say that the new...more

Civil Rights Council’s Amendment to the Fair Chance Act Increases Employer Obligations

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP on 12/20/2023

The California Office of Administrative Law approved the California Civil Rights Council’s proposed amendment to the California Fair Chance Act, effective October 1, 2023. In addition to providing employers with further...more

California’s New Background Check Regulations: 10 Frequently Asked Questions

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 10/2/2023

California has implemented new regulations, effective October 1, 2023, that significantly change the employer criminal background check process for California applicants and employees. The following answers to ten frequently...more

California Changes Background Check Procedures

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 8/30/2023

The California Civil Rights Council recently amended the regulations interpreting California’s 2018 Fair Chance Act, which go into effect October 1, 2023. The new regulations add restrictions, make clarifications, and...more

California Employers Using Criminal History Face New Compliance Obligations

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 8/23/2023

For many years, California employers have been subject to the state’s Fair Chance Act, which (in a nutshell) requires employers to...more

California Seeks to Ban Criminal Background Checks for Most Private Sector Employers

Littler on 3/27/2023

Existing California law regulates inquiries into and the use of criminal history information in hiring and personnel decisions. Existing California law also substantially impedes the ability of employers (and background...more

Proposed Legislation Limiting Inquiries into an Applicant’s Criminal History Prior to an Offer of Employment Introduced in the New...

Proskauer - Law and the Workplace on 2/20/2023

On February 7, 2023, Bill No. A03726 was introduced before the New York State Assembly which, if passed, would prohibit employers from inquiring about or making statements regarding “the arrest record or conviction record of...more

So, What’d I Miss??? A Flurry of New Employment Laws Impact New York Firms

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP on 3/4/2022

Key Points - The past eight months have featured the introduction of myriad new state and city laws impacting New York firms. From amendments to the NYC Fair Chance Act and NYS Paid Family Leave Law, to the expansion...more

New Year Brings New Laws for New York Employers: 2021 Recap and 2022 Preview

Fisher Phillips on 12/29/2021

Year two of the COVID-19 pandemic brought many new legislative changes for New York employers, altering the landscape around workplace safety, employee pay, leave benefits, protected classes and activity, and privacy. Now...more

Maine’s New ‘Ban-the-Box’ Law: When Can Employers Inquire About Criminal Histories?

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 9/3/2021

In July 2021, Maine enacted a new “ban-the-box” law that limits employer inquiries into an applicant’s criminal history. Under the new law, entitled “An Act Relating to Fair Chance in Employment,” employers are prohibited...more

Amendments to the NYC Fair Chance Act and New Legal Enforcement Guidance Require City Employers to Substantially Change Their...

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer on 8/6/2021

Recent Amendments to the New York City Fair Chance Act (FCA) that took effect on July 29, 2021, significantly expand the scope of the FCA by imposing new restrictions on an employer’s ability to take adverse action against...more

34 Results

View per page

Page: of 2

Hiring & Firing › Fair Chance Act › State Labor Laws

2025 Legislative Developments Affecting Washington Employers

Washington Further Limits Criminal Background Checks in the Workplace: An Employer’s Guide and Compliance Action Plan

Recently Passed Employment Laws Will Significantly Impact Washington Employers

Washington Employers: Prepare Now for Sweeping Changes to State Employment Laws Starting July 2025

Salmon, Butter Pats and Vinyl: Washington State’s Newest Invention Will Be More Burdensome Background Check Requirements

Washington’s Fair Chance Act: New Amendments Transform Employer Background Check Policies

California Employment News: Fair Chance Act – A Brief Overview of Employment Criminal Background Checks

San Diego County Adopts Fair Chance Ordinance for Unincorporated Areas: What Employers Need to Know

County of Los Angeles Enacts Fair Chance Ordinance New Hiring Requirements for Employers

Employers Face Onerous Compliance Obligations Under the New Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance

Civil Rights Council’s Amendment to the Fair Chance Act Increases Employer Obligations

California’s New Background Check Regulations: 10 Frequently Asked Questions

California Changes Background Check Procedures

California Employers Using Criminal History Face New Compliance Obligations

California Seeks to Ban Criminal Background Checks for Most Private Sector Employers

Proposed Legislation Limiting Inquiries into an Applicant’s Criminal History Prior to an Offer of Employment Introduced in the New...

So, What’d I Miss??? A Flurry of New Employment Laws Impact New York Firms

New Year Brings New Laws for New York Employers: 2021 Recap and 2022 Preview

Maine’s New ‘Ban-the-Box’ Law: When Can Employers Inquire About Criminal Histories?

Amendments to the NYC Fair Chance Act and New Legal Enforcement Guidance Require City Employers to Substantially Change Their...

Updates to NYC Fair Chance Act Expand Protections for Applicants, Current Employees, Independent Contractors

NYC Imposes New Limits On Use Of Criminal History In Hiring And Employment

New York City Issues Guidance On Fair Chance Act Amendments Effective July 29, 2021

New York City Amends Fair Chance Act, Further Limits Employers’ Consideration of Criminal History

Updates to California’s Restrictions on Using Criminal Records in Employment Decisions

Hiring & Firing › Fair Chance Act › State Labor Laws

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"