Texas ban-the-box rules: Austin's fair chance ordinance, HB 2127 and recruiters

Texas has no statewide ban-the-box law, as of October 2026: no statute restricts when private employers, or state agencies, may ask about criminal history. The one local rule that reaches private employers is Austin's Fair Chance Hiring Ordinance, City Code Chapter 4-15, in force since April 4, 2016, which bars employers with 15 or more Austin-based employees from asking about criminal history until after a conditional offer. A 2023 state law, HB 2127, bars cities from regulating "hiring practices" unless a statute allows it; the Texas Workforce Commission says that "essentially nullified" ordinances like Austin's from September 1, 2023, though the city still describes the ordinance and takes complaints.

Does Texas have a ban-the-box law for private employers?

No. We found no Texas statute that sets a stage of hiring before which a private employer may not ask about criminal history, and none that removes the question from state agency applications. Texas law does affect what candidates must disclose and what employers risk, and those rules are covered in our Texas background check laws guide:

• Expunctions and nondisclosure orders. A person with a final expunction order may deny the arrest, and a person with an order of nondisclosure need not mention the related proceeding on an application.
• Reporting limits. Consumer reporting agencies generally may not report criminal matters older than seven years for jobs paying under $75,000 a year.
• Negligent hiring. Civil Practice and Remedies Code 142.002 limits negligent hiring claims based solely on an employee's conviction.

So a private Texas employer outside Austin can ask about convictions on an application without breaking a state timing rule, but should word the question so candidates know they need not list expunged matters or those under a nondisclosure order.

What does Austin's Fair Chance Hiring Ordinance require?

Austin City Code Chapter 4-15 was adopted by Ordinance No. 20160324-019, effective April 4, 2016. The city's Office of Civil Rights enforces it.

Who is covered

• Employers with 15 or more Austin employees. An employer is one that employs at least fifteen individuals "whose primary work location is in the City" for each working day in 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding year. The term "includes an agency acting on behalf of an employer."
• Not government. The United States, the state and state agencies, and political subdivisions of the state are excluded, as are tax-exempt private membership clubs.
• All kinds of work. Employment includes part-time, temporary, seasonal, contract and contingent work and work through a temporary or other employment agency.

What it prohibits (section 4-15-4)

1. Publishing job information that "states or implies that an individual's criminal history automatically disqualifies" someone.
2. Asking about criminal history on an application, which includes a written or oral expression of interest.
3. Soliciting or considering criminal history before a conditional employment offer. An employer may explain its individualized assessment system to applicants in writing.
4. Refusing to consider someone because they did not provide criminal history before an offer.
5. Taking adverse action because of criminal history without first finding the person unsuitable through an individualized assessment of, at a minimum, the nature and gravity of the offenses, the time since the offense and completion of the sentence, and the nature and duties of the job.

An employer that takes adverse action based on criminal history "must inform the individual in writing" that it was based on criminal history. "Criminal history" means an arrest, conviction, plea of nolo contendere or deferred adjudication arising from a felony or Class A or B misdemeanor accusation.

Staffing agencies

Section 4-15-4(G) lets a staffing agency solicit criminal history and make an individualized assessment "when the staffing agency has identified a job to which the individual will be employed or placed in a staffing pool." The definition of a conditional employment offer also covers placement in a staffing pool.

Exceptions and penalties

The chapter does not apply to a job where a federal, state or local law, or a legally mandated insurance or bond requirement, disqualifies people based on criminal history. Complaints must reach the Office of Civil Rights within 90 days of learning of the violation and no later than one year after it. An employer that does not cease a violation within 10 business days of written notice is liable for a civil penalty of up to $500 for that violation; for a first violation the city may instead issue a warning if the employer attends training. Ad and application violations bring no more than one penalty per job.

Can Texas cities pass their own rules after HB 2127?

HB 2127, signed June 14, 2023 and effective September 1, 2023, added Labor Code section 1.005: unless expressly authorized by another statute, a city or county "may not adopt, enforce, or maintain an ordinance, order, or rule regulating conduct in a field of regulation" occupied by the Labor Code. The field "includes employment leave, hiring practices, breaks, employment benefits, scheduling practices, and any other terms of employment that exceed or conflict with federal or state law" for employers other than a city or county. The act also lets a person injured by a preempted ordinance sue the city.

The act does not mention criminal history or fair chance hiring by name. The Texas Workforce Commission's employer guide on references and background checks says cities such as Austin had enacted ban-the-box ordinances, "but Labor Code Section 1.005 essentially nullified those ordinances effective September 1, 2023." We did not find a court decision on the point, and as of October 2026 the city's page still describes the ordinance and invites complaints. The same TWC guide recommends, as HR best practice, not asking about criminal history until a tentative offer has been made, so following Austin's timing costs little: a post-offer process is lawful everywhere in Texas.

Cities and counties remain free to set their own hiring practices, since section 1.005 excludes them as employers. We searched the Houston and San Antonio codes on Municode and found no rule like Austin's for private employers; we did not check Dallas, Fort Worth or county policies.

When can you ask about criminal history in Texas?

What federal rules still apply?

Title VII still applies to how a record is used, including its disparate impact provision in 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(k). The EEOC rescinded its 2012 guidance on arrest and conviction records on October 28, 2026, but a job-related review using the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case (the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since it and the nature of the job) is still the safe practice; Austin's ordinance writes the same three factors into city law. Reports from a screening company trigger the FCRA's disclosure, authorization and adverse action steps; see the FCRA background check process. Federal contractors also have the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, which bars requesting criminal history for contract-related positions before a conditional offer; see ban-the-box laws and interview questions.

Are any Texas ban-the-box bills pending?

We did not identify a bill from the 89th Legislature (2025) that enacted a statewide fair chance rule, and the Legislature's regular sessions meet in odd-numbered years. Check Texas Legislature Online before relying on this.

What should recruiters and staffing agencies do in Texas?

In Austin, an agency acting for an employer is itself covered, so its ads, applications and screens must follow Chapter 4-15. Agency licensing questions are covered separately in staffing agency licensing in Texas.

Questions to settle at intake

• Is the job's primary work location in Austin, and does the client have at least 15 employees there?
• Does a law, or a mandated insurance or bond requirement, disqualify people with certain records from this job? Which one?
• For staffing roles, at what point is a specific job or pool placement identified?
• Who runs the individualized assessment, who sends the written notice, and who sends the FCRA notices?

A short script

Candidate volunteers a record: "Thanks for telling me. Criminal history isn't part of my screen, so I won't note it. If the employer runs a check, that's later, and you'd see anything they rely on."

Austin client wants "No felonies" in the ad: "Austin's ordinance doesn't allow ads implying a record automatically disqualifies someone, unless a law or required bond does. Is there one for this job? If so, I'll note it on the requisition."

A Texas checklist

1. Flag Austin roles on the job order and remove criminal history questions and "no felons" lines from their ads, applications and screens.
2. Outside Austin, word any conviction question to exclude expunged and nondisclosed matters.
3. Keep volunteered information out of notes and submittals; see what not to write in interview notes.
4. Document the individualized assessment and send the written notice for any Austin rejection based on a record.
5. For the wider state hiring checklist, see hiring employees in Texas.

Texas ban-the-box rules at a glance