What Employers Need to Know About 2025 Workplace Compliance Changes

From Social Media Risk to Whistleblower and Background Check Laws—Here’s What to Watch

As we move through 2025, the compliance landscape for employers is undergoing major change. New laws are expanding employee protections, sharpening regulatory scrutiny in high-risk industries, and setting new expectations for how organizations handle online behavior, workplace safety, and candidate screening.

Below, you’ll find the eight most important developments HR, legal, and compliance leaders should track this year—now including a major federal court decision that partially vacates the EEOC’s 2024 harassment guidance. That includes background screening and whistleblower protections to AI regulation and the legality of social media screening. Remember, this is not legal guidance or advice. Consult with an attorney in order to understand how this information impacts your organization.

9 Compliance Regulations to Know

1. Background Check Laws: Clean Slate, Fair Chance, and State Privacy Updates in 2025

Employers entered 2025 facing one of the most dynamic compliance environments in recent history. Background screening policies are evolving rapidly, with new state laws reshaping how—and whether—certain records can be accessed or used in hiring. Clean‑slate legislation, fair‑chance (“ban‑the‑box”) ordinances, and consumer‑style privacy acts are changing not just what information can be used in hiring—but when and how.

Clean Slate Laws Are Taking Effect Nationwide

Clean slate laws allow certain non-violent criminal records to be sealed or expunged after a crime-free period. These laws aim to reduce hiring bias and reflect growing support for second-chance employment.

Key state updates:

• Minnesota: Automatic expungement for misdemeanors and non‑violent felonies began January  2025.
• Colorado: Civil infractions sealed after 4 years; misdemeanors after 7; eligible felonies after 10.
• Washington, D.C.: The Second Chance Amendment Act will automatically expunge certain marijuana offenses starting January 2026.
• California, New York, Texas: Bills introduced to broaden automatic record relief.
• Virginia: A phased clean slate law is set to begin no earlier than July 1, 2026.

As sealed or expunged records become more common, employers must ensure their screening providers keep data sources up to date to avoid reporting inaccessible records.

Fair Chance and Ban-the-Box Laws Continue to Expand

Fair chance hiring laws delay criminal history inquiries until after a conditional offer is made. These laws are expanding across jurisdictions.

Recent updates:

• Kansas City,  Missouri: Criminal‑history status is now a protected class.
• Madison, Wisconsin: Employers must weigh rehabilitation, community involvement, and other “character” factors.
• Active expansion bills in Alabama, Kentucky,  New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, and Washington.

Even where not required, it’s a best practice to individually assess criminal history as a part of the hiring process to ensure compliant and fair hiring.

State Privacy Laws Reshape Screening Disclosures and Data Use

Several states are adding consumer-style privacy protections that affect how background check data is collected, stored, and shared.

Recent developments:

• California CPRA and similar statutes in Virginia, Colorado, and Connecticut give candidates more control over data usage and retention.
• Proposed bills in Texas and Oregon could further restrict data sharing.

Ensure your background‑screening vendors use refreshed data sources and that all disclosures, consent forms, and adverse‑action workflows align with the latest privacy mandates.

2. California Expands Workplace Violence Protection Orders to Include Harassment

Effective January 1, 2025, California employers can now request temporary restraining orders (TROs) not only for workplace violence or threats—but also for harassment.

Harassment is defined as: Conduct that seriously alarms, annoys, or harasses a specific person and serves no legitimate purpose, causing substantial emotional distress.

The updated law reinforces that employers may be held liable if they fail to take reasonable steps to protect employees from harassment—whether it occurs in the office, remotely, or via personal social media platforms.

Many early signs of harassment emerge on public social media. Screening online behavior during hiring can help employers detect risks before they escalate while remaining compliant with FCRA and EEOC standards.

3. Illinois Strengthens Whistleblower Protections

Also effective January 1, 2025, Illinois updated its Whistleblower Act to prohibit retaliation against employees who disclose—or threaten to disclose—illegal or dangerous employer conduct.

Protected disclosures include those made to:

• A government or law enforcement agency
• A supervisor or board member within the organization

Disclosures must be made in good faith.

As a best practice, employers can review internal reporting and retaliation policies to ensure alignment with Illinois law and consider applying similar safeguards in other states to stay ahead of the curve.

4. Judiciary Workplace Protections Bill Reflects Broader Trends

Though not yet law, the proposed Judiciary Accountability Act would expand anti-harassment and anti-discrimination protections to 30,000 federal judiciary employees—aligning them with protections in the private sector and other federal branches.

Even if stalled in Congress, this proposal signals a trend toward stronger protections and behavioral transparency across all industries.

5. FINRA Enforcement Highlights Reputational Risk in Regulated Industries

For financial services firms, compliance includes not just employment law but industry-specific oversight. FINRA plays a central role in enforcing ethical conduct and investor protection.

FINRA responsibilities include:

• Regulating broker-dealers and enforcing rules
• Monitoring market activity and issuing sanctions
• Managing the Central Registration Depository (CRD)
• Educating investors and maintaining market integrity

Firms are expected to screen beyond criminal records—especially for reputational risk, fraud, or online misconduct.

Behavioral screening of public social media and online sources helps uncover risks missed in traditional checks, ensuring alignment with FINRA expectations.

6. Misinformation and Disinformation: A New Compliance Risk

A recent Harvard Law School analysis highlights how misinformation and disinformation now pose legal and reputational risks for employers.

What this means for HR and legal teams:

• Monitor the digital footprint of employees and candidates
• Watch for online content that could damage your brand or public trust
• Be prepared with escalation and response protocols

Tools like Fama’s social media screening help identify online behaviors such as hate speech, harassment, or threats before they damage your brand or workplace culture.

7. New Federal Court Vacates Portions of EEOC Harassment Guidance

On May 15, 2025, a federal district court in Texas vacated nationwide the parts of the EEOC’s 2024 Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace that had expanded the definition of “sex” under Title VII to cover (1) denial of access to bathrooms or other sex‑segregated facilities consistent with an individual’s gender identity and (2) repeated, intentional misuse of names or pronouns. The EEOC’s response, currently without a voting quorum, has shaded and labeled the vacated sections on its website but cannot formally rescind or revise the document until additional commissioners are confirmed.

For employers looking for guidance, here’s what you need to know and do: 

• The court’s order creates immediate uncertainty about how gender‑identity–related harassment claims will be evaluated.
• Continue enforcing robust anti‑harassment policies, document all complaints and resolutions, and monitor EEOC updates.
• For multi‑state employers, remember many jurisdictions (e.g., California, New York, and Washington) already provide explicit gender‑identity protections under state law.

8. Social Media Screening: What’s Changing

Social media screening is legal—and increasingly necessary. New state-level proposals are introducing additional guardrails to protect candidate privacy.

Emerging legislation would:

• Ban employers from requesting private login credentials
• Restrict action based on lawful off-duty conduct
• Limit use of deleted or private content in hiring decisions

The good news is employers can still screen public online content by using a third-party, compliant partner, like Fama.

Fama helps employers:

• Only review publicly available online content
• Stay compliant by not allowing private login credentials
• Focus on job-relevant behavior (e.g., threats, harassment, violence)
• Avoid protected class data
• Stay compliant with FCRA, EEOC, GDPR, and state laws

As a best practice, avoid DIY screening. Use a third-party tool like Fama to ensure full compliance while protecting privacy. Also never request private login credentials. This is not only an industry best practice, but a necessary compliance measure in many states including New York.

9. California’s “No Robo Bosses Act” Advances AI Oversight in Employment Decisions

In June 2025, California’s Senate passed SB 7—the “No Robo Bosses Act”—marking the strongest legislative move yet to regulate how employers use artificial intelligence and automated decision systems (ADS) in the workplace. The bill is now under review in the Assembly, where it has been referred to the Labor & Employment, Judiciary, and Privacy & Consumer Protection committees.

If enacted, the law would require employers to disclose when ADS tools are used to make promotion, discipline or firing of employees and to include meaningful human oversight in those processes. Employees and candidates would also gain the right to access and appeal decisions influenced by these systems. Hiring decisions are included from the bill and companies like Fama who do not make hiring decisions would be excluded from the bill.

Even as the bill moves through the Assembly, it reflects a growing trend: legislators are paying close attention to how AI is shaping workplace decisions, and employers should expect increased regulation and to have policies that focus on transparency, fairness, and human accountability. 

Final Thoughts

Compliance in 2025 is no longer just about background checks and handbooks. Today’s legal environment demands a behavior-first approach, especially as misconduct, bias, and reputation risks increasingly originate online.

From fair chance laws and online harassment protections to privacy-first background screening and AI regulations, staying ahead means modernizing how risk is detected, documented, and managed. There’s already case law expanding workplace misconduct and harassment to personal social media channels.  Equally notable, additional case law has confirmed that both organizations and corporate officers like CEOs and CHROs can be held liable for misconduct that isn’t appropriately addressed. This is just one reason why conducting social media background checks with a third party, complaint screening solution is a must-have in 2025. 

Fama helps leading employers do exactly that—by screening public online content for misconduct, threats, and bias, while staying fully compliant with evolving state, federal, and industry laws.