WA HB1395

Long-term care workers with certain past convictions cannot be automatically disqualified from employment once specified time periods have passed: 3 years for selling cannabis, 10 years for first-degree theft, and 5 years for second-degree robbery, second-degree extortion, or second/third-degree assault

Employers and authorized entities are prohibited from conducting repeat character, competence, and suitability reviews for individual providers and home care agency providers when the same nonautomatically disqualifying conviction was previously reviewed, or when more than 10 years have passed since the last such conviction or negative action

Individual providers and home care agency providers awaiting character, competence, and suitability reviews may work for up to 30 days before the review is completed, provided their background check contained no automatically disqualifying offenses

Fingerprint-based background checks for individual and home care agency providers are required only at initial hire, as required by federal law, when the last fingerprint is 5+ years old and a new managing employer requests one, or when there is documented good faith belief of potential new findings

Clients must be notified of background check results and provided copies upon request when a "review required result" occurs; the law takes effect July 27, 2025