New hiring laws for 2027: the state and federal changes recruiters need to know
On this page
As of October 2026, the hiring laws that take effect between now and mid-2027 cluster around five themes: AI in screening (California's automated decisionmaking rules and Colorado's SB 26-189 from January 1, 2027, and Illinois's disparate impact law from June 1, 2027), notices when immigration authorities inspect I-9s (Massachusetts and Washington since 2026), limits on what a new hire can be made to sign (New York's Trapped at Work Act from December 19, 2026, California's stay-or-pay ban for 2027 contracts, Washington's non-compete ban from June 30, 2027), narrower screening (New York's credit check ban, Washington's amended Fair Chance Act) and new pay floors. At the federal level, the changes are agency rules: the end of automatic EAD extensions, Form I-9 edition dates, and OFCCP's rewritten contractor rules.
This page summarizes the largest changes and links the ten state pages, each of which lists every enacted law and adopted rule for that state with its effective date and primary source. Federal items come from the Federal Register and the agencies' own pages.
Not legal advice. This is a dated summary of statutes, regulations and agency pages as of October 2026. Only enacted laws and adopted rules with confirmed effective dates are listed. Check the state page and the linked source before relying on a date.
Which state hiring laws take effect in 2026 and 2027?
The largest change in each state, sorted by date. Each state page has the full list.
| Effective date | State | Law and what changes for hiring | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1, 2026 | Illinois | Public Act 103-0804: AI with a discriminatory effect in hiring is a civil rights violation; notice of AI use required | P.A. 103-0804 |
| January 1, 2026 | Minnesota | Paid Leave begins; written notice to each new hire within 30 days | Minn. Stat. 268B.26 |
| January 1, 2026 | Oregon | SB 906: every new hire gets a written explanation of pay statement earnings, deductions and codes | SB 906 |
| April 18, 2026 | New York | Chapter 681 of 2025: employers and employment agencies may not request or use consumer credit history, with listed exceptions | S3072 |
| June 3, 2026 | Colorado | HB 26-1283: no holding an applicant's or employee's ID beyond I-9 verification, ten hours at most, with a written notice | HB 26-1283 |
| July 1, 2026 | Washington | EHB 1747: background checks only after a conditional offer, for employers with 15 or more employees (all employers January 1, 2027) | Session law |
| July 17, 2026 | New Jersey | Family Leave Act now covers employers with 15 or more employees | P.L.2025, c.279 |
| August 5, 2026 | Massachusetts | Written notice to each employee within 48 hours of an ICE notice of I-9 inspection | Chapter 163 of 2026 |
| October 1, 2026 | Maryland | Maryland Worker Freedom Act: no adverse action against employees or applicants over employer meetings on religious or political matters | SB 417 |
| October 1, 2026 | Washington | Immigrant Worker Protection Act: notice to workers within five business days of a federal I-9 inspection notice | Session law |
| December 19, 2026 | New York | Trapped at Work Act: no stay-or-pay promissory notes as a condition of employment | Labor Law 1050 |
| January 1, 2027 | California | CPPA ADMT rules: pre-use notice and opt-out or appeal for AI that makes hiring decisions; AB 692 stay-or-pay ban for contracts from this date | CPPA; AB 1697 |
| January 1, 2027 | Colorado | SB 26-189 replaces the Colorado AI Act: notice, 30-day explanation after rejection, correction and human review | SB 26-189 |
| January 1, 2027 | Illinois | Public Act 104-0776: no driver's license requirement in job postings without an essential-function reason | P.A. 104-0776 |
| January 1, 2027 | Maryland | FAMLI contributions begin at 0.9% of wages | Maryland FAMLI |
| January 1, 2027 | Massachusetts | PFML contribution split changes, with updated workforce notices for new hires | Mass. DFML |
| June 1, 2027 | Illinois | Civil Rights Safeguard Act: hiring criteria with a discriminatory effect, including on conviction record, must be job related and consistent with business necessity | P.A. 104-0744 |
| June 30, 2027 | Washington | ESHB 1155: all non-competes void, whenever signed | HB 1155 |
| July 1, 2027 | Colorado | HB 26-1207: employers with 100 or more workers that file EEO-1 report the data to the Secretary of State | HB 26-1207 |
The state pages
- California: ADMT rules, stay-or-pay, AB 2495, pay data, $17.40 wage.
- New York: credit check ban, personnel records, Trapped at Work Act, NYC sick time.
- Illinois: AI notice, offer letter terms, staffing rules, driver's licenses, disparate impact.
- Colorado: SB 26-189, ID rule, EEO-1 reporting, wage floors.
- Washington: Fair Chance Act, I-9 notices, non-compete ban, exempt salary tiers.
- New Jersey: veterans under the LAD, 1099 new-hire reports, family leave at 15 employees, ABC test rules.
- Minnesota: Paid Leave notices, breaks, accommodation process, wage floors.
- Oregon: new-hire pay statement notice, work authorization updates, wages.
- Massachusetts: EEO data reports, I-9 inspection notice, PFML changes.
- Maryland: Worker Freedom Act, FAMLI contributions, child labor penalties.
Which federal hiring rules change in 2026 and 2027?
| Effective date | Agency and rule | What changes for hiring | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 27, 2026 | DHS, weighted selection for H-1B registrations (90 FR 60864) | Cap-subject H-1B selection is weighted toward higher-skilled, higher-paid positions, starting with the FY 2027 registration season | Federal Register |
| July 6, 2026 | EEOC, rescission of the Title VII affirmative action guidelines (91 FR 40879) | The 1979 guidelines in 29 CFR part 1608 are removed, applicable as of June 29, 2026 | Federal Register |
| July 31, 2026 | USCIS, Form I-9 editions | Electronic I-9 systems had to update to the version expiring 05/31/2027; the printing that expired 07/31/2026 is no longer valid; the current edition is dated 01/20/25 | USCIS Form I-9 page |
| September 21, 2026 | OFCCP, VEVRAA and Section 503 regulations revised (91 FR 54234; 91 FR 54482) | Rules aligned with Executive Order 14173, cross-references to Executive Order 11246 removed, and the VEVRAA threshold updated to $200,000; the VEVRAA job listing duty is unchanged | VEVRAA rule; Section 503 rule |
| October 14, 2026 | DHS, removal of automatic extensions for certain EADs (91 FR 65306) | Finalizes the October 30, 2025 interim rule: a timely renewal application no longer automatically extends an EAD in the affected categories, so reverification dates come sooner | Federal Register |
| October 19, 2026 | DOL, Wagner-Peyser Employment Service staffing (91 FR 54024) | States may staff their job centers and job banks without state merit staff; listing with the state job bank still satisfies VEVRAA | Federal Register |
| October 26, 2026 | OFCCP, rescission of Executive Order 11246 regulations (91 FR 54444) | The regulations implementing Executive Order 11246, revoked on January 21, 2025, are rescinded | Federal Register |
| May 31, 2027 | USCIS, Form I-9 | The remaining 08/01/23 edition printing reaches its 05/31/2027 expiration date | USCIS Form I-9 page |
Two federal notes without a new effective date: the EEOC's EEO-1 page said in October 2026 that updates on the 2025 EEO-1 Component 1 collection "will be posted to this page as they become available," so the 2025 collection had not opened; and the VEVRAA job listing rule still requires covered contractors to list openings with the state job bank, as shown state by state in VEVRAA job listing by state. How the EAD change affects reverification is covered in I-9 and the EAD automatic extension.
What do the 2027 AI hiring rules have in common?
Three states have dates in the window, and all three put the duty on the employer using the tool, not only on the vendor:
- California: from January 1, 2027, a CCPA business using automated decisionmaking technology for hiring gives a pre-use notice and an opt-out or a qualifying alternative such as a human appeal.
- Colorado: for decisions from January 1, 2027, notice before a covered tool materially influences the decision, an explanation within 30 days of a rejection, and correction and human review on request. Tools used solely to summarize or organize information for human review are excluded.
- Illinois: notice of AI use and a ban on discriminatory effect since January 1, 2026, and from June 1, 2027 a statutory disparate impact test for every hiring criterion, AI or not.
The practical common step is an inventory: which tools score, rank or reject candidates, which only transcribe or summarize for a person who decides, and what notice each state requires for the first group. The broader map of AI hiring rules, including New York City's Local Law 144, is in AI hiring laws by state.
What should multi-state recruiters and staffing agencies do before January 1, 2027?
- Reprice 2027 offers and job ads to the new floors: for example $17.40 in California, $17.73 in Washington (exempt salary $92,196 for employers with 51 or more), $16.48 for most New Jersey employers and Denver's $19.84; New York's stays at $17.00 and $16.00. Colorado's 2027 state figures were still proposed in October 2026.
- Strip repayment and non-compete clauses from templates used in California (2027 contracts), New York (from December 19, 2026) and Washington (void from June 30, 2027).
- Move background checks after the conditional offer for Washington roles, and remove credit reports from New York packages.
- Write an I-9 inspection notice procedure with the shortest deadline you face: 48 hours in Massachusetts, five business days in Washington.
- Inventory AI hiring tools and prepare California and Colorado notices.
- Update new-hire packets for the notices each state added, such as Minnesota's Paid Leave notice, Oregon's pay statement explanation, California's know-your-rights notice and Colorado's ID notice.
- Keep collecting voluntary self-identification at onboarding: California, Colorado and Massachusetts each require state pay or EEO data reports whatever happens to the federal EEO-1.
Pay range posting rules did not change much in these states in 2026, but every posting still has to carry them; the state-by-state rules are in pay transparency laws by state, and E-Verify mandates are in E-Verify requirements by state.
Questions people ask
What are the biggest new hiring laws for 2027?
As of October 2026, the largest changes are California's automated decisionmaking rules for AI hiring tools and its stay-or-pay ban for contracts signed from January 1, 2027; Colorado's SB 26-189, which replaces the Colorado AI Act for hiring decisions made from January 1, 2027; Illinois's Civil Rights Safeguard Act on hiring criteria with a discriminatory effect from June 1, 2027; Washington's non-compete ban from June 30, 2027; and New York's Trapped at Work Act from December 19, 2026. This is not legal advice.
Which states require employers to notify workers about an I-9 inspection?
Among the states covered here, Massachusetts has required written notice to each employee within 48 hours of an ICE notice of inspection since August 5, 2026, and Washington has required written notice within five business days of a federal I-9 inspection notice since October 1, 2026. Separately, California's AB 2495 widens the ban on immigration-related retaliation, including document abuse and E-Verify misuse, from January 1, 2027.
What federal hiring rules changed in 2026?
From the agencies' own records: DHS's weighted H-1B selection rule took effect February 27, 2026; the EEOC rescinded its Title VII affirmative action guidelines effective July 6, 2026; electronic Form I-9 systems had to update by July 31, 2026; OFCCP's revised VEVRAA and Section 503 rules took effect September 21, 2026; DHS finalized the end of automatic EAD extensions on October 14, 2026; and the Executive Order 11246 regulations were rescinded effective October 26, 2026.
Is there a federal AI hiring law in 2027?
No. As of October 2026 there is no federal statute regulating AI in hiring; the rules that apply are state and local laws such as California's ADMT regulations, Colorado's SB 26-189, Illinois's Human Rights Act amendments and New York City's Local Law 144, plus existing federal anti-discrimination law.