Ban the Box Laws by State and Municipality 06.2026.xlsx

	A	B	C
1	Jurisdiction	Covered Employers	Notes

2	Federal	N/A	N/A
3	Alabama	N/A	N/A
4	Alaska	N/A	N/A
5	Arizona	N/A	N/A
6	Arkansas	N/A	N/A
7	California	Any employer with five or more employees	Prohibits criminal background inquiries until after a conditional job offer
8	Compton	Contractors doing business with city	Allows background checks only after a conditional job offer
9	Los Angeles	Any employer in the city with 10 or more employees	Permits criminal history questions only after conditional job offer
10	Los Angeles County	Any employer in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County	Criminal background checks allowed only after a conditional job offer. Requires an individualized assessment before taking adverse action based on the results of a criminal background check, prohibits covered employers from preventing or discouraging individuals with criminal history from applying to job openings and bars consideration of certain categories of criminal information.
11	Richmond	Private employers with 10 or more employees that contract with city	Applies regardless of where the employer is based
12	San Diego County	Employers in the unincorporated areas of San Diego County with 5 or more employees	Criminal background checks allowed only after a conditional job offer. Requires an individualized assessment before taking adverse action based on the results of a criminal background check, prohibits covered employers from declaring limits related to a job applicant's conviction or arrest record in a job posting and bars consideration of certain categories of criminal information.
13	San Francisco	Employers with five or more employees	Bans criminal inquiries, or requiring disclosure of conviction history, until conditional job offer has been made
14	Colorado	All employers	Bans inquiring into or requiring disclosure of criminal history on initial application forms
15	Connecticut	All employers	Bans criminal history questions on initial job applications with very limited exceptions
16	Hartford	Contractors doing business with the city	Allows background checks only after a conditional employment offer
17	New Haven	Contractors doing business with the city	Allows background checks only after a conditional job offer
18	Delaware	N/A	N/A
19	District of Columbia	All employers with more than 10 employees	Allows background check only after a conditional employment offer
20	Florida	N/A	N/A
21	Gainesville	Employers with 15 or more employees whose primary work location is Gainesville	Bans criminal history inquiries prior to a conditional job offer. Adverse action based on an individual's criminal history must be based on an individualized assessment of the nature of the criminal conduct and the nature of the job, and the individual must be given notice and a reasonable opportunity to respond.
22	Georgia	N/A	N/A
23	Atlanta	Private employers in the city with 10 or more employees	Bans adverse employment actions on the basis of criminal history status
24	Hawaii	Private employers	Prohibits criminal history inquiries prior to a conditional employment offer
25	Idaho	N/A	N/A
26	Illinois	Private employers with 15 or more employees	Prohibits criminal history inquiries prior to a job interview, or until after a conditional job offer if no interview occurs
27	Chicago	Private employers with fewer than 15 employees	Bans criminal history questions prior to a job interview, or until after a conditional job offer if no interview occurs
28	Cook County	Private employers with fewer than 15 employees	Bans criminal history questions prior to a job interview, or until after a conditional job offer if no interview occurs
29	Indiana	N/A	N/A
30	Iowa	N/A	N/A
31	Waterloo	At job application stage for private employers and at conditional job offer stage for employers with 15 or more employees	Bans criminal history questions before making a conditional employment offer
32	Kansas	N/A	N/A
33	Kentucky	N/A	N/A
34	Louisville	Contractors doing business with the city	City prefers vendors that ban the box on job applications and may terminate contracts with those that do not
35	Louisiana	All employers	Bans consideration of criminal history records uncovered through a background check that did not result in arrest or conviction in hiring decisions. For other types of criminal history, employer must perform an individualized assessment of the relationship between the criminal conduct and the position sought.
36	New Orleans	Contractors doing business with the city	Bans city contractors from asking criminal history questions on initial job applications
37	Maine	All employers	Prohibits inquiring into criminal history on initial application forms and specifying on an application form or advertisement that a person with a criminal history may not apply or will not be considered. Employers may inquire into criminal history at the interview stage or later but must give prospective employees the chance to explain the circumstances surrounding any convictions.
38	Maryland	All employers with 15 or more employees	Prohibits an employer from requiring an applicant to disclose their criminal record, conducting a criminal history records check or inquiring about the applicant's criminal record prior to the applicant's first in-person interview. An employer may require an applicant to disclose their criminal record during the applicant's first in-person interview.
39	Baltimore	All employers with 10 or more employees	Bans criminal records checks or inquiries until a conditional job offer has been made
40	Montgomery County	Any employer employing one or more persons in the county	Bans inquiring into an applicant's criminal history, requiring an applicant to disclose criminal history, and conducting a criminal record check on an applicant at any time before extending a conditional employment offer. The ordinance has additional limitations and requirements.
41	Prince George's County	Any employer with 25 or more full-time employees in the county	Bans criminal history questions or background checks until after the first interview
42	Massachusetts	Private employers	Prohibits criminal history questions on initial application form, but also bans inquiries about certain types of crimes later in the hiring process
43	Michigan	All employers with 1 or more employees	Bans inquiries into arrests that did not result in conviction
44	Detroit	Contractors doing business with the city when contract is for $25,000 or more	Bans criminal conviction questions until contractor interviews applicant or determines applicant is qualified
45	Kalamazoo	Contractors providing services to the city for more than $25,000 or those seeking tax abatement	Requires showing of commitment that the contractor does not use criminal history to discriminate in employment
46	Minnesota	Private employers	Bans criminal history inquiries on initial job applications subject to limited exceptions
47	Minneapolis	All employers based in Minneapolis and any employer that hires or employs an employee whose services are partially or wholly performed in Minneapolis	Requires consideration of specified factors before making an adverse employment decision based on a person's criminal history, with certain exceptions
48	Mississippi	N/A	N/A
49	Missouri	N/A	N/A
50	Columbia	All employers within city limits	Bans criminal history questions until after conditional job offer
51	Kansas City	Private employers with six or more employees	Bans criminal history inquiries until after job interview
52	St. Louis	Employers with 10 or more employees	Bans employers from basing a hiring or promotional decision on a job applicant's criminal history or related sentence or making inquiries regarding an applicant's criminal history except under certain circumstances
53	Montana	N/A	N/A
54	Nebraska	N/A	N/A
55	Nevada	N/A	N/A
56	New Hampshire	N/A	N/A
57	New Jersey	Any employer with 15 or more employees over 20 calendar weeks	Includes provision preempting local laws
58	New Mexico	Private employers	Bans criminal history inquiries, but an employer may consider an applicant's conviction after reviewing the application and discussing employment with the applicant
59	New York	N/A	N/A
60	Buffalo	Private employers with 15 or more employees/Contractors doing business with the city	Bans criminal history questions on initial job applications
61	New York City	All employers with four or more employees	Bans criminal history inquiries prior to conditional job offer
62	Rochester	All employers with four or more employees and contractors doing business with city	Bans criminal history inquiries until after initial job interview or conditional job offer made
63	Suffolk County	The County and any other employer located in the County with 15 or more employees	Bans inquiries into an applicant's prior criminal convictions during the application process and prior to the first interview
64	Syracuse	City contractors	Bans criminal history inquiries, background checks until after conditional job offer
65	Westchester County	All employers with four or more employees	Bans inquiries about an individual's arrest record or criminal conviction until after the submission of an employment application
66	North Carolina	N/A	N/A
67	North Dakota	N/A	N/A
68	Ohio	N/A	N/A
69	Oklahoma	N/A	N/A
70	Oregon	Private employers	Bans employers from excluding an applicant from a job interview solely because of a past criminal conviction
71	Portland	Employers with six or more employees	Bans employers from asking about or accessing criminal records before a conditional job offer is made
72	Pennsylvania	N/A	N/A
73	Chester County	All employers with four or more employees, excluding parents, spouses, and children	Employers may not require a job applicant to disclose criminal convictions until after an initial interview, subject to limited exceptions. Employers are prohibited from considering conviction records that do not relate to any applicant's suitability for employment. Employers considering such records are subject to additional requirements.
74	Lehigh County	All employers with at least one employee in the county	Employers may not ask about criminal convictions on employment applications or ask job applicants to disclose criminal convictions until after an initial interview. Employers are prohibited from considering conviction records that do not relate to an applicant's suitability for employment.
75	Northampton County	All employers with one or more employees, excluding parents, spouses and children	Employers may not require job applicants to disclose prior criminal convictions until after an initial interview. Employers are also prohibited from considering conviction records that do not relate to an applicant's suitability for employment. After a first interview, employers may use background checks and prior history to determine suitability for employment. The ordinance has additional requirements and limitations.
76	Philadelphia	All employers with at least one employee in the city	Bans criminal background checks prior to a conditional job offer and requires consideration of specified factors and written notice before relying on criminal conviction information, subject to certain exceptions
77	Pittsburgh	Contractors/vendors doing business with the city	Bans criminal history inquiries until applicant is deemed otherwise qualified for a position
78	Rhode Island	Employers with four or more employees	Prohibits criminal history inquiries on initial job applications
79	South Carolina	N/A	N/A
80	Columbia	City of Columbia, city contractors	Bans inquiries or consideration of an applicant's criminal conviction history until after the applicant receives a conditional job offer; restricts requests for criminal history in job announcements, descriptions and applications
81	South Dakota	N/A	N/A
82	Tennessee	N/A	Preempts cities and counties from extending state ban the box law to private employers
83	Texas	N/A	N/A
84	Austin	Employers with 15 or more employees	Bans criminal history questions or criminal background checks until a conditional job offer has been made
85	Utah	N/A	N/A
86	Vermont	Private employers	Bans criminal history questions on an initial job application
87	Virginia	N/A	N/A
88	Washington	Private employers	Bans arrest or conviction questions (or criminal background checks) before a job applicant is deemed otherwise qualified for a position. Additional limitations apply starting July 1, 2026 for larger employers and January 1, 2027 for smaller employers.
89	Seattle	Any employer with one or more employees	Requires an employer to have a legitimate business reason to automatically exclude applicants with arrest or conviction record
90	Spokane	Private employers	Bans criminal history questions before a job interview
91	West Virginia	N/A	N/A
92	Wisconsin	N/A	N/A
93	Madison	Arrest record inquiries: All employers Other preemployment criminal background inquiries: Contractors doing business with city on contracts worth more than $25,000	Ordinance applicable to all employers prohibits most inquiries into arrest records. Ordinance applicable to city contractors bans criminal history questions, background checks until after conditional offer.
94	Wyoming	N/A	N/A
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