Washington becomes the 11th state to adopt background check reform within the private sector. 

Today, June 7, marks the date the Fair Chance Act goes into effect in effort to ensure applicants are judged by their work and experience qualifications—and not by criminal or arrest histories. The act, HB 1298, is designed to get figurative feet in the door or, in other words, to keep companies from discriminating against potential hires until applicants at least meet minimum requirements for various job types. 

If an employer determines that the applicant is qualified, the law does not restrict the employer from inquiring into or obtaining information about a criminal record.

Maurice Emsellem, program director with the National Employment Law Project, says “HB 1298 represents a major step forward for Washington state’s business community and economy, while providing hope and opportunity to all those qualified workers who have struggled to find work with a conviction record but who are ready to give back to their communities.”

Penalties for not adhering to the act are as follows: 

• First Violation: Notice of violation.
• Second Violation: Penalty of up to $750.
• Third Violation and beyond: Penalty of up to $1,000 for each instance.

HB 1506, Washington's Equal Pay Opportunity Act, also goes into effect today. Learn more about complying with both laws from BIAW.

By Shoreline Area News

Workers from Shoreline's Irons Brothers Construction joined local businesses and the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties in partnership with Kindering, the largest and most comprehensive therapy program in the Northwest for children who are disabled, medically fragile, or at risk.

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Contact: Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties | pr@mbaks.com

NEW REPORTS SHOW LOCAL POLICIES UNDERMINE HOUSING GOALS

SEATTLE, Wash., August 27, 2025 – The Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties (MBAKS) released two new reports showing how certain local policies are falling short as an effective affordable housing strategy. The reports provide technical information for local policymakers to support successful implementation of state laws aimed at lowering barriers for construction of more homes of all types.

The first report – Mandatory Affordable Housing Fees Carry Unintended Consequences – finds that such fees disproportionately raise barriers to middle housing projects, often making them financially infeasible and preventing them from being built. It also critiques a report relied upon by many Eastside cities to update and adopt mandatory affordable housing fees.

The second report – How Nexus Studies Misunderstand the Affordable Housing Challenge – highlights a core flaw in the logic underpinning many nexus studies local jurisdictions rely upon to justify imposing mandatory affordable housing fees. This report refutes the assumption that new market-rate housing is the primary driver of the need for affordable housing, in part because this framework ignores the broader supply shortage. It also shows that if newer homes cannot be built, higher-income owners and renters remain in what would historically be lower-cost homes accessible to more people, including first time buyers.

“The reports provide information for policymakers supporting how well-intentioned mandatory affordable housing programs can be counterproductive to achieving more affordable housing,” said Jerry Hall, executive director of MBAKS. “They also illustrate how these programs limit progress on our shared work to ensure everyone has a place to call home. The reports show that we do not address the need for affordable housing by making housing more expensive.”

MBAKS commissioned ECOnorthwest, an independent public policy research firm, to prepare the reports to better inform local dialogue on affordable housing strategies. They are part of a series of reports from MBAKS demonstrating flaws in mandatory affordable housing policies.

MBAKS has also prepared a Legal Memorandum describing the implications of mandatory affordable housing fees under recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions regarding “unconstitutional conditions.” It explains how mandatory programs raise constitutional issues under the rulings requiring a showing of a “nexus” and “rough proportionality.” 

ABOUT MBAKS
The Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties (MBAKS) is the nation’s oldest and largest local homebuilders association, helping to make home happen since 1909.