On March 29, 2025, Governor Jay Inslee signed Senate Bill 5501 into law, prohibiting employers from requiring a driver’s license as a condition of employment unless driving is an essential job function or is directly related to a legitimate business purpose. Employers are similarly prohibited from including driver’s license requirements in job postings unless these criteria are satisfied. The law takes effect on July 27, 2025.
Next Steps for Employers
To prepare for compliance, employers should review and update their hiring practices, including job postings, job descriptions, application forms, and background check procedures, to ensure that any driver’s license requirement is tied to an essential function or legitimate business need. Where driving is not an essential function, employers must ensure that no driver’s license requirement is included.
