West Virginia ban-the-box law: no statute, expunged records and the stalled bills

West Virginia has no ban-the-box law for private employers or for state and local government, as of October 2026. The Legislature's own records show the closest attempt, the Ban-the-Box Act in House Bill 4229 of 2024, would have covered state agencies only and stopped in the House Judiciary Committee; the 2025 and 2026 regular sessions saw no ban-the-box bill at all. What West Virginia does have is a strong expungement rule: a person whose record is expunged need not disclose it on a job application, except for law enforcement and corrections jobs, and only employers required by law to run checks may learn of expunged convictions.

Does West Virginia have a ban-the-box law?

No. Our West Virginia background check guide and West Virginia hiring checklist found no statute, and the Legislature's record of the last bill that tried shows why. The history of HB 4229 runs: introduced January 10, 2024 and sent to Workforce Development, reported out "with amendment, do pass, but first to Judiciary" on February 1, 2024, and referred to House Judiciary the same day, where it stopped.

What would the Ban-the-Box Act have done?

The introduced text of HB 4229 would have added a new article 29-6A. It said the article "only applies to public employers and does not apply to private employers," and defined a public employer as "the State of West Virginia, its agencies, boards and commissions," leaving out cities and counties. A covered employer could not ask about criminal history, "including any inquiry on any employment application," until the applicant had signed a release, was being considered for a specific position and had received an interview. After a lawful check, the state would weigh the nature and gravity of the offense, the time elapsed, the person's age at conviction, whether the offense related to the job, and rehabilitation; an arrest without a conviction could not disqualify anyone; and the applicant would get a chance to show the report was wrong before a final decision. Positions where law requires an up-front criminal history inquiry, which the bill said "may include law enforcement, community safety, civil service" and jobs with minors or the elderly, were excluded. None of this became law.

Which bills were filed in 2025 and 2026?

The Legislature's lists of all bills for the 2025 and 2026 regular sessions contain no ban-the-box bill. Two related bills, with the same title, did appear:

• Senate Bill 288 (2025), "Limiting liability of employers for persons whose criminal records are expunged." It stayed in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
• Senate Bill 35 (2026), the same title, introduced January 14, 2026 and referred to Senate Judiciary the same day, with no further action. It would have created a new article, 62-15C.

Neither became law. If a version passes, it would address an employer's liability exposure for hiring someone with an expunged record, not the timing of the question.

What West Virginia law does say about records on applications

West Virginia's limits work through expungement rather than timing. Under W. Va. Code 61-11-26(l), once a conviction is expunged "the proceedings in the matter shall be considered, as a matter of law, never to have occurred," and the person "shall not have to disclose the fact of the record or any matter relating to the record on an application for employment, credit, or other type of application." Two exceptions matter to recruiters:

• Law enforcement and corrections. Anyone applying for a position "engaging in the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution, or incarceration of persons for violations of the law shall disclose any and all convictions," expunged or not.
• Checks required by law. Employers "required by state or federal law to obtain a criminal history record check on a prospective employee" are authorized to know of expunged convictions. An employer running a voluntary check is not.

The person cannot be found guilty of perjury or a false statement for leaving out an expunged matter, as long as they follow the rule. Section 61-11-25 gives charges that did not end in a conviction a similar effect. So the practical rule for West Virginia applications is the wording: ask about convictions "other than expunged records" for ordinary jobs, and use the full question only for the law enforcement and corrections roles the statute names.

Two more state rules shape the process: State Police records go to private employers only with the person's written authorization under W. Va. Code 15-2-24, and long-term care and other covered providers must run fingerprint checks through WV CARES before most direct access hires. Both are set out in the background check guide.

What federal rules apply in West Virginia?

• Title VII. Employers with 15 or more employees are covered (42 U.S.C. 2000e), and record-based exclusions can be challenged under the disparate impact provision, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(k); courts decide those claims.
• EEOC guidance rescinded. On October 28, 2026 the EEOC voted to rescind its 2012 arrest and conviction records guidance. Title VII still prohibits race and national origin discrimination, including proxies for it. 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.
• Fair Chance Act. Federal contractors may not request criminal history for positions related to the contract before a conditional offer, with exceptions (41 U.S.C. 4714); federal agencies follow 5 CFR part 920.
• FCRA. Disclosure and written authorization before a screening company's report, then a pre-adverse action notice with the report (FTC guide).

What should recruiters and staffing agencies do in West Virginia?

1. Reword the record question. Applications, agency registration forms and knock-out questions should exclude expunged records, except for law enforcement and corrections roles.
2. Write down the legal basis for any required check. Only a check required by law unlocks expunged convictions; name the statute in the job order.
3. Get the client's timing policy. With no state rule, it decides when criminal history comes up and who weighs it.
4. Check where the job is. A job located across the line in Maryland can fall under Maryland's law, which covers private employers with 15 or more full-time employees and waits for the first in-person interview.
5. Keep records out of notes. See what not to write in interview notes.
6. Send FCRA notices every time. See the FCRA background check process.

Script for a client asking for "any convictions, ever": "In West Virginia, someone with an expunged conviction doesn't have to list it unless this is a law enforcement or corrections job, and only an employer required by law to check can see it. Let's ask about convictions other than expunged records."

West Virginia ban-the-box rules at a glance

For states that regulate timing, see ban-the-box laws and interview questions. Other West Virginia rules for the same hire: E-Verify, staffing agency licensing, non-competes and recording interviews.