Prince George's County ban-the-box law for employers (2026): the first interview rule, lookback limits and the 7-day notice

Prince George's County, Maryland's ban-the-box law, Subdivision 10 of County Code Subtitle 2, Division 12 (sections 2-231.02 to 2-231.08), renamed "Access to Employment for Returning Citizens" in 2024, covers employers with ten or more full-time employees in the county, including the county government. It bars criminal record questions on the application and any inquiry or criminal record check until the conclusion of a first interview, and it never allows asking about or considering convictions whose sentence ended at least five years ago (nonviolent felonies) or 30 months ago (misdemeanors), arrests without a conviction, or completed cannabis possession cases. Before rescinding an offer, the employer must make an individualized assessment, share the report and wait seven days. As of November 2026 the county's Office of Human Rights enforces it, and complaints are due within 180 days.

What is Prince George's County's ban-the-box law?

The current text is on the county's official code host, Subtitle 2, Division 12, Subdivision 10. Its history, from the County Council's legislative records:

• CB-78-2014, enacted November 19, 2014 and effective January 20, 2015: the Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards, for employers with 25 or more full-time employees in the county, with inquiries allowed after the first interview.
• CR-6-2015, adopted April 14, 2015: the Council approved the rules for administering the law, including the complaint deadline and record keeping covered below.
• CB-090-2023, effective January 29, 2024: the county government, as an employer, may not ask whether an applicant has ever used cannabis.
• CB-019-2024, the Employment Fairness Act for Returning Citizens, enacted July 16, 2024, signed August 1, 2024 and effective September 16, 2024: renamed the subdivision, lowered the threshold from 25 to ten full-time employees, and added the lookback limits and the bars on non-conviction arrests and cannabis possession.
• CB-016-2025, effective September 8, 2025: an applicant for a civilian or sworn public safety position who discloses prior marijuana use stays eligible in the application process.

Who is covered?

• Ten or more full-time employees in the county. An employer is any business or other entity "operating and doing business in the County that employs ten (10) or more persons full-time in the County." It "includes the County government, but does not include the United States, any State, or any other local government" (section 2-231.03(a)(10)).
• Jobs in the county. An applicant is a person considered for "employment in the County by an employer." Employment includes unpaid vocational or educational training. The text does not address remote roles held by county residents.
• Old threshold, old pages. The Office of Human Rights' Ban the Box page still says 25 or more full-time employees; that was the 2014 law. CB-090-2023's bill text still read 25, and the codified definition now reads ten.

Exemptions

Under section 2-231.06, the subdivision does not apply:

• if the inquiries are "required or expressly authorized by an applicable Federal, State, or County law or regulation";
• to county public safety agencies, or to positions that, "in the judgment of the County," have access to confidential or proprietary business or personal information, money or items of value, or involve emergency management (the county government's cannabis-use bar still applies to them); or
• to an employer that provides programs, services or direct care to minors or vulnerable adults.

CB-019-2024 told the Executive Director to propose rules within 90 days, subject to Council approval by resolution, that specify which public and private sector positions fall in the second exemption. We found no such resolution in the Council's legislative records as of November 2026. The signed bill also listed positions with access to "personal homes or residences" and "facilities that provide personal storage," words the codified section on Municode does not show after CB-016-2025. Ask the Office of Human Rights before treating a private-sector role as exempt.

When can a Prince George's County employer ask about criminal history?

Section 2-231.04(a) bars requiring an applicant or potential applicant to disclose "the existence or details" of an arrest record or conviction record on an employment application. Section 2-231.04(c) bars, "at any time until the conclusion of a first interview," requiring disclosure of an arrest or conviction record or an accusation of a crime, conducting a criminal record check, or inquiring "of the Applicant or others" about it.

The subdivision does not define "interview," so it does not settle whether a recruiter's phone screen is the first interview. Maryland's statewide rule also applies to employers with 15 or more full-time employees: no requirement to disclose before the first in-person interview. Where both apply, wait for the later of the two points; the simplest practice that satisfies both is to wait for a conditional offer.

Which records are off-limits at every stage?

Since September 16, 2024, an employer may not at any time inquire into or consider:

• a conviction for a nonviolent felony where the sentence was completed "at least five (5) years or sixty (60) months ago" (section 2-231.04(d)(1)); a nonviolent felony is one that is not a crime of violence under Maryland Criminal Law 14-101;
• a misdemeanor conviction where the sentence was completed "at least thirty (30) months ago" (section 2-231.04(d)(2));
• arrests "that did not result in a conviction," except probation before judgment, which is treated as a misdemeanor (section 2-231.04(e)); and
• any arrest or conviction for possession of marijuana, cannabis or related materials or paraphernalia once any sentence is completed, unless the conviction included intent to distribute (section 2-231.04(f)).

The county defines a sentence as "the term of imprisonment or probation imposed," so the clock runs from the end of probation, not the conviction date. Example: a misdemeanor sentence of probation that ended in March 2024 falls outside what an employer may consider from September 2026, 30 months later. Section 2-231.04(g) adds that an employer may not conduct background checks "that do not conform to the restrictions of this Section," so the report itself has to respect these limits. Maryland's statewide limits on expunged and shielded records also apply; see Maryland background check laws.

What must an employer do before rescinding an offer?

Section 2-231.05(a) requires an individualized assessment for any employment decision based on an arrest or conviction record, "considering only specific offenses that may demonstrate unfitness to perform the duties of the position sought," the time elapsed since them, and any evidence the record is inaccurate. If the employer intends to rescind an offer because of the record, section 2-231.05(b) says it must first:

1. give the applicant a copy of any criminal record report;
2. notify the applicant in writing of the intention to rescind and of the items it is based on;
3. give the applicant, in writing, their right to respond; and
4. delay rescinding for seven days so the applicant can point out any inaccuracy.

The final rescission must also be in writing (section 2-231.05(c)). If a screening company prepared the report, the FCRA's pre-adverse and adverse action notices apply as well; one packet can serve both if it contains everything each requires. See the FCRA background check process and background check notification emails. Federally, the EEOC rescinded its 2012 arrest and conviction records guidance on October 28, 2026, but Title VII still applies, and the county's assessment covers the same ground as the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case.

How does the county rule fit with Maryland law?

Statewide, employers with 15 or more full-time employees may require disclosure during the first in-person interview (see Maryland's ban-the-box law), and the state law does not preempt a more restrictive local law (Labor and Employment 3-1502(b)). For a county job, both rules can apply at once: the county adds the application ban, the check ban, the lookback limits and the rescission steps, and it reaches employers with 10 to 14 full-time employees that the state rule does not. Next door, Montgomery County and the District of Columbia wait for a conditional offer, as does Baltimore City.

Who enforces it, and what are the penalties?

• Office of Human Rights. The Executive Director administers and enforces the subdivision, and an aggrieved person files a written complaint under Division 12 (section 2-231.07(a)-(b)). The office works by appointment: 301-883-6170, or the form on its file a discrimination complaint page.
• Deadline. Section 2-201 says an investigation may be started no later than 180 days after the alleged violation by filing a signed statement on the office's form. The 2015 rules count the 180 days from the first interview or the notice denying employment or rescinding the offer.
• Fines and damages. Section 2-231.07(c) makes a violating employer subject to a fine "up to the maximum allowed by the County or State law for each violation." Division 12's remedies section, 2-195.01, lets the Human Rights Commission award expenses, damages for humiliation and embarrassment of up to $200,000 and interest, impose a civil fine of up to $10,000, and in employment matters a fine of up to $5,000 per violation under Maryland Local Government 10-202(d).
• Records. The 2015 rules require employers that deny employment based on criminal history to keep, for up to three years, the applicant's name, address, application, the position, the selection process, the denial or notice letters, and race, national origin, gender and age.
• Retaliation. Section 2-231.04(h) bars retaliating against anyone who opposes a violation or takes part in a complaint.

What should recruiters and staffing agencies do on Prince George's County jobs?

• Check both employers' size. The agency is covered when it employs ten or more full-time in the county, and the client when it does; on a temp placement the agency may be the employer that has to follow the rules.
• Do not let the recruiter screen be the trigger. Because "interview" is undefined, leave criminal history to the hiring employer's process after its own interview, and keep it out of agency screens and submittals.
• Brief the screening company. Ask it to apply the county's lookbacks, the non-conviction arrest bar and the cannabis bar to county jobs, since a nonconforming check is itself barred.
• Agree who sends the notices. The rescission packet and the seven-day wait belong to whoever rescinds the offer; put that and the FCRA notices in the client agreement.
• Keep denial records. If your desk declines a candidate over criminal history, keep the records the 2015 rules list.
• Keep volunteered information out of notes. See what not to write in interview notes.

A notice of intent to rescind you can adapt

Adapt this with counsel. It covers section 2-231.05(b), including the written statement of the applicant's right; add the FCRA items if a screening company prepared the report.

Notice of intent to rescind offer of employment
To: [applicant name]          Date sent: [date]
Position: [title], [Prince George's County worksite]

We are considering rescinding our offer of [date] because of the
following item(s) in your criminal record report:
  - [item, court, date]
A copy of the report is enclosed. We considered only offenses that
may bear on the duties of this job, the time since them, and any
evidence that the record is inaccurate.

Your right: you have 7 days, until [date], to tell us that any item
is inaccurate. Contact [name] at [email / phone]. We will not make a
final decision before then, and if we rescind the offer we will tell
you in writing.

Prince George's County ban-the-box rules at a glance