The past year marked significant developments in employment compliance, with substantial changes across multiple areas of law that directly impact how employers conduct background checks, manage hiring processes, and develop workplace policies. From criminal history reform to cannabis legalization, pay equity, artificial intelligence, and E-Verify updates, 2024 brought changes that emphasize fairness, equity, accountability, and technological oversight in hiring practices.
Criminal History Reform: Clean Slate and Ban-the-Box Laws
Clean Slate Laws
Clean slate laws offer individuals second chances by sealing or expunging certain criminal conviction and non-conviction records from public access after they remain crime-free for a specified period. These laws aim to reduce hiring barriers and promote fair employment opportunities for individuals with prior convictions.
Key updates from 2024 include:
- Idaho: Introduced petition-based expungement for non-violent offenses, allowing individuals to clear their records through a court petition.
- Pennsylvania: Expanded automatic sealing to include pardoned crimes, non-violent drug felonies, and summary offenses after specified timelines.
- New York: Enacted the Clean Slate Act, which takes full effect by 2027, providing automatic sealing for misdemeanors after three years and non-violent felonies after seven years.
- Minnesota (2025): Introduced automatic expungement for misdemeanors and some felonies, streamlining the process for individuals to clear their records.
- Virginia (2025): Prioritized the automatic sealing of marijuana-related offenses and dismissed charges, aligning with the state’s broader cannabis reforms.
- Washington, D.C. (2025): Implemented a phased approach to sealing records, beginning with decriminalized offenses and gradually expanding to misdemeanors.
- Colorado (2025): Expanded protections to include non-conviction records and non-drug-related felonies, emphasizing fairness in hiring decisions.
Employers must refine adjudication processes to address discrepancies between available records and candidate claims. Training hiring managers to handle scenarios involving sealed or expunged records is critical to maintaining compliant hiring practices.
Ban-the-Box Ordinances
Ban-the-box laws delay inquiries into a candidate’s criminal history, promoting fair hiring practices and requiring individualized assessments for adverse decisions. Major updates in 2024 include:
- Unincorporated Los Angeles County: This ordinance applies to all paid work, including contractors, gig workers, and freelancers, in unincorporated areas of the county. Employers cannot ask about criminal history until after a conditional offer is made. Employers must conduct a detailed individualized assessment to evaluate whether a candidate’s criminal history directly impacts job performance or poses a safety risk. Pre-adverse action notices must include specific convictions, response deadlines, and instructions for submitting evidence of rehabilitation or disputing the report. Employers must also conduct a second assessment if the candidate provides evidence and issue detailed adverse action notices. Proper documentation and thorough training are essential for compliance.
- Philadelphia: Strengthened protections by barring adverse decisions based on exonerated records, such as pardons or dismissed charges. Employers must adhere to a 10-day waiting period between pre-adverse and adverse action notices.
- Prince George’s County, Maryland: Updates to the Employment Fairness Act lowered the employer threshold from 25 to 10 employees and excluded non-violent felonies older than five years, misdemeanors older than 30 months, and marijuana possession offenses unless intent to distribute is involved. Employers should revise adjudication practices to incorporate these changes.
- Unincorporated San Diego County: Enhanced California’s Fair Chance Act by requiring individualized assessments of criminal records, though sharing these assessments with candidates remains optional. Employers cannot consider arrests without convictions, expunged records, or diversion program participation. Pre-adverse action notices must specify convictions considered, provide the background report, and inform candidates of their rights to respond or file complaints with regulatory agencies.
- US Virgin Islands Fair Chance Act: Limits inquiries into an applicant’s criminal history until after extending a conditional job offer. Employers must confirm that candidates are qualified for the position based on skills and experience before reviewing criminal history. If criminal history impacts the hiring decision, an individualized assessment and written explanation are required. Employers must also allow candidates to respond before finalizing adverse decisions.
Employers should tailor hiring processes to review jurisdiction-specific laws, update pre-adverse and adverse action notices, and leverage compliance tools to streamline adherence to complex requirements.
Pay Equity and Transparency
Salary History Bans
Salary history bans aim to eliminate wage disparities by preventing employers from using past compensation to determine future pay. Key updates include:
- Columbus, Ohio: Prohibited employers with 15 or more employees from asking about salary history.
- Lehigh County, Pennsylvania: Added salary history restrictions as part of its broader anti-discrimination ordinance.
- Minnesota: Applied salary history bans to both in-state and remote positions.
Pay Transparency Laws
Pay transparency laws require employers to disclose salary ranges and, in some cases, benefits to create equitable pay practices.
Key updates include:
- Colorado: Maintains one of the most detailed laws, requiring salary disclosures, internal promotion notifications, and application deadlines for all job opportunities.
- Hawaii: Effective January 2024, employers with 50 or more employees must include salary ranges in job postings.
- Maryland: Updated its pay transparency law to require disclosures for any job performed partially within the state.
- Massachusetts (2025): Employers with 100 or more employees must include salary ranges and benefits in job postings and provide demographic pay data annually.
- Minnesota and Illinois (2025): Introduced comprehensive measures requiring salary and benefit disclosures.
- New Jersey (2025): Employers must include salary ranges and compensation details, such as tips or bonuses, in job postings for roles performed in the state or remotely accessible to New Jersey candidates.
- Vermont (2025): Added requirements to disclose tipped wages and commission structures in job postings.
- Washington, D.C.: Effective June 2024, employers with one or more employees in the District must include salary ranges and benefits in job postings.
Employers must audit job postings, ensure salary disclosures are accurate, and prepare for demographic pay reporting requirements in jurisdictions like Massachusetts.
Cannabis Legalization
Cannabis legalization has introduced complex challenges for employers, particularly around drug testing and workplace policies.
Medical Marijuana Updates
- Pittsburgh: Prohibited pre-employment testing for medical marijuana patients except for safety-sensitive positions. Employers must update drug testing policies and decide whether to remove THC from panels or inquire about medical marijuana use post-offer.
- Kentucky and South Dakota: Allowed employers to enforce zero-tolerance policies while exempting safety-sensitive roles from certain protections.
Recreational Adult-Use Cannabis
- California and Washington: Prohibited actions based on non-psychoactive THC metabolites and encouraged oral fluid testing to identify current impairment.
- Ohio: Legalized recreational marijuana but allowed employers to maintain strict drug-free workplace policies.
Employers should focus on impairment testing rather than zero-tolerance policies and ensure drug testing practices align with state laws.
AI and Privacy Laws
The rapid adoption of AI in hiring has prompted new regulations aimed at transparency, bias prevention, and ethical AI use.
State-Specific AI Laws
- New York City: Mandated annual bias audits for AI hiring tools and required disclosure to candidates.
- Illinois: Enacted HB 3773, prohibiting AI practices that result in discriminatory impacts and banning ZIP code proxies for protected characteristics.
- Colorado: Introduced a comprehensive AI Act regulating high-risk systems, requiring risk assessments and documentation of AI processes.
Federal Updates
- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) classified AI-generated worker dossiers as consumer reports under the FCRA, requiring accuracy, disclosure, and dispute resolution.
- The Department of Labor issued guidance encouraging transparency and worker involvement in AI development.
Employers must audit AI tools for bias, comply with disclosure requirements, and stay updated on emerging state and federal regulations.
E-Verify Updates
E-Verify compliance saw key updates in 2024, emphasizing employee protections and record retention:
- Illinois: Employers must notify employees of E-Verify discrepancies within five business days, provide clear explanations, and allow adequate time for resolution, including the right to representation.
- USCIS Record Deletion: Employers are responsible for retaining E-Verify records beyond the 10-year deletion cycle to ensure compliance with audits.
Employers should establish clear procedures for notifying employees of E-Verify discrepancies, securely retain records linked to I-9 forms for audit readiness, and train HR teams to handle discrepancies effectively. Regular internal audits of E-Verify and I-9 processes can help identify and resolve compliance gaps, reducing risk.
Parting Thoughts
To focus on compliance in an evolving landscape, employers should:
- Adapt hiring practices to reflect clean slate and ban-the-box laws.
- Ensure salary and benefit disclosures in job postings.
- Align drug testing policies with state cannabis laws.
- Audit AI tools for bias and regulatory adherence.
- Retain E-Verify records and prepare for immigration-related audits.
2024 brought significant changes to employment compliance, highlighting the need for proactive adjustments in hiring practices, pay transparency, cannabis policies, AI use, and E-Verify processes. Staying informed and aligning with these updates not only mitigates risks but also fosters fair and transparent workplaces.
As the 2025 legislative season heats up, employers prioritizing compliance today will be better equipped to navigate future challenges and build trust with their workforce and stakeholders. Compliance is not just a legal obligation—it’s an opportunity to strengthen organizational values.