New hiring laws in Washington State for 2027: what changes for recruiters and employers

As of October 2026, Washington's hiring changes run on a timetable through mid-2027. The amended Fair Chance Act, which moves background checks to after a conditional offer and adds a written adverse action process, applied to employers with 15 or more employees on July 1, 2026 and reaches all employers on January 1, 2027. Since October 1, 2026, employers must notify workers within five business days of a federal I-9 inspection notice. On January 1, 2027 the minimum wage rises to $17.73 and the exempt salary to $92,196 for larger employers, and on June 30, 2027 every non-compete becomes void.

This page lists enacted laws and adopted rules with confirmed dates, linked to the bill on the Legislature's site or the agency's page. The standing hiring checklist for the state is in hiring employees in Washington.

Which Washington hiring laws take effect in 2026 and 2027?

What do the Fair Chance Act amendments change in the hiring process?

EHB 1747 rewrote RCW 49.94. The session law says the act "applies to employers with 15 or more employees beginning July 1, 2026" and to smaller employers from January 1, 2027. In order, the process now looks like this:

1. Before the offer: no questions about criminal records and no background check until the applicant has received a conditional offer. An applicant may still volunteer information in an interview, and a posting may say the job is subject to a check after a conditional offer.
2. When it comes up: if an employer or applicant discloses criminal history during hiring, the employer must give the applicant the Attorney General's Washington Fair Chance Act guide for employers and job applicants.
3. What may not be used: no tangible adverse action based on an arrest record or a juvenile conviction record.
4. Before acting on an adult conviction: the employer needs a "legitimate business reason" as defined in the act, must identify the record it relies on, and must "hold open the position for a minimum of two business days" so the person can correct or explain it or show rehabilitation.
5. After deciding: a written decision with specific documentation of the reasoning, according to the Attorney General's Fair Chance Act page.

Recruiters who used to run checks before the final interview need to move them; the details and model language are in ban the box in Washington and Washington background check laws.

What does the Immigrant Worker Protection Act require at work sites?

2SHB 2105 took effect June 11, 2026, and its employer duties in sections 4 through 10 took effect October 1, 2026. Every employer must display the Attorney General's poster. "Within five business days of receiving notification from a federal agency of any inspection of I-9 forms," it must give each worker, and the worker's representative if any, a written notice, and it must do the same within five business days of receiving the inspection results. The act was conditioned on funding in the 2026 budget; the Attorney General has since published the poster, the I-9 inspection notice and model notices on its Immigrant Worker Protection Act page, in English and five other languages. For staffing agencies, an I-9 inspection of the agency's own records means notices to its own workers, including the people it has placed with clients. Ordinary I-9 and E-Verify rules are in E-Verify in Washington.

What does the non-compete ban mean for offers made now?

ESHB 1155 was signed March 23, 2026, and the Legislature lists its effective date as June 30, 2027. From then, a non-competition covenant is void no matter when it was signed or what the worker earns; customer non-solicitation clauses survive only for relationships the employee built in the job and only for up to 18 months; and employers must make reasonable efforts to tell current and former workers still bound by a covenant that it is void, by October 1, 2027. Until June 30, 2027 the existing pay floors apply: L&I lists $131,326.59 for employees and $328,316.49 for independent contractors for January to June 2027. Offer letters signed now should not lean on a non-compete that will be void in eight months; see Washington non-compete law.

What changed for job postings?

The 2025 posting laws took effect on July 27, 2025, and L&I's implementing rule followed on May 22, 2026. For employers with 15 or more employees, every posting needs the pay range or fixed wage and a general description of benefits; postings by a third party count, but copies republished without the employer's consent do not. The rule also restricts requiring a driver's license, or saying one is required in a posting, unless driving is an essential function or serves a legitimate business purpose. The five-business-day correction window before penalties applies to postings through July 27, 2027 only. The full posting rules are in Washington pay transparency.

What changed in the last 90 days?

• September 30: L&I announced the 2027 minimum wage, the two-tier exempt salary and the 2027 non-compete floors.
• October 1: the Immigrant Worker Protection Act's notice duties took effect.
• Coming up: January 1, 2027 for small employers under the Fair Chance Act and for paid leave job protection at 15 or more employees.

What to do before January 1, 2027

1. Move every criminal history question and background check to after the conditional offer, for employers of any size, and build the two-business-day hold into the adverse action letter.
2. Add the Attorney General's Fair Chance Act guide to the packet recruiters send when criminal history comes up.
3. Check which exempt salary tier applies, 51 or more employees or 50 or fewer, and reprice exempt offers to $92,196 or $82,976.40.
4. Post the Immigrant Worker Protection Act poster and assign someone to send I-9 inspection notices within five business days.
5. Stop adding non-competes to Washington offers that would run past June 30, 2027, and plan the void-covenant notices due by October 1, 2027.
6. Audit live postings for pay range, benefits and any driver's license requirement before the correction window ends.

For the other states with 2027 changes, see new hiring laws for 2027.