April 22, 2025 — Disability Rights Washington joined Governor Ferguson and Senator Stanford in Olympia today at the bill signing for SB 5501 [1]. This bill prohibits an employer from requiring a driver’s license as a condition of employment or including a statement in a job posting that an applicant must have a valid driver’s license, unless driving is an essential job function or is related to a legitimate business purpose for the position
“People with disabilities face many barriers to employment. As a result, we are a third less likely [2] to be employed. Even if we manage to live somewhere with reliable transit or find a job that allows for remote work, too often employers will still list a driver’s license as a condition of employment — even when the job has nothing to do with driving,” explained Anna Zivarts, Director of the Disability Mobility Initiative at Disability Rights Washington.
This issue extends beyond the disability community. Twelve percent of driving-age adults [3] do not have driver’s licenses, and people without licenses, both those who identify as disabled and those who do not, are more likely to be Black, Indigenous or people of color. [4] Young people are increasingly unlikely to have a license: In 2020, only 25 percent [5] of 16-year-olds had driver’s licenses, compared with 43 percent when I was a teenager in 1997.
Disability Rights Washington (DRW) began work on the driver’s license issue in 2021 after hearing from disabled Washington residents who had experienced barriers to employment because of unnecessary license requirements. In 2022, DRW released a report [6] about the issue featuring stories of impact and began working with the Governor’s Committee on Disability Employment (GCDE) to address the issue. In fall 2024, working with GCDE, Governor Inslee issued two executive orders banning unnecessary driver’s license requirements for state government jobs as part of a package to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities [7].
DRW hoped to expand the employment access beyond the state agencies covered by Gov. Inslee’s executive orders, and inspired by success legislation in Oregon and California [8], started working with Senator Derek Stanford and Representative Shawn Scott to develop a bill.
“Our efforts in Washington have already inspired advocates in Missouri and Minnesota to begin organizing for similar legislation,” said Zivarts. “We are excited to support this momentum to redefine who we include and who has access.”
DRW would like to thank ChrisTiana Obey Sumner, Kimberly Kinchen, Elizabeth Gordon, Kirsten Bladh from Streets for All, California Senator Anthony J. Portantino, Oregon Senator, Sara Gelser Blouin, Sarah Clifthorne and Bryce Yadon for their collaboration in this work.
The new law goes into effect 90 days after the end of this legislative session.