NYC Local Law 144 (Automated Employment Decision Tools)

Properties

jurisdiction: US, New York City
level: local
domain: hiring
status: in-effect
scope: Bars employers and agencies from using an automated employment decision tool (AEDT) to screen NYC candidates or employees for hiring or promotion unless it has been bias-audited.
obligations: Independent bias audit within the prior year; publish a summary of the audit results; notify candidates at least 10 business days before use and disclose the data and characteristics used.
effectiveDate: 2023-07-05
enactedDate: 2021-12-11
penalties: Civil penalties up to 1,500 USD per violation, accruing per day.
appliesTo: employers and employment agencies using AEDTs for NYC roles
officialUrl: https://www.nyc.gov/site/dca/about/automated-employment-decision-tools.page
notes: First US bias-audit mandate for hiring algorithms; enforced by the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. Enforcement update (re-verified 2026-08-22): a December 2, 2025 New York State Comptroller audit (2024-N-6) found DCWP's enforcement ineffective, including that the AEDT complaint process fails to route all LL144 complaints to DCWP, and recommended a more proactive enforcement posture; the law itself is unchanged and remains in effect.

jurisdiction: US, New York City
level: local
domain: hiring
status: in-effect
scope: Bars employers and agencies from using an automated employment decision tool (AEDT) to screen NYC candidates or employees for hiring or promotion unless it has been bias-audited.
obligations: Independent bias audit within the prior year; publish a summary of the audit results; notify candidates at least 10 business days before use and disclose the data and characteristics used.
effectiveDate: 2023-07-05
enactedDate: 2021-12-11
penalties: Civil penalties up to 1,500 USD per violation, accruing per day.
appliesTo: employers and employment agencies using AEDTs for NYC roles
officialUrl: https://www.nyc.gov/site/dca/about/automated-employment-decision-tools.page
notes: First US bias-audit mandate for hiring algorithms; enforced by the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. Enforcement update (re-verified 2026-08-22): a December 2, 2025 New York State Comptroller audit (2024-N-6) found DCWP's enforcement ineffective, including that the AEDT complaint process fails to route all LL144 complaints to DCWP, and recommended a more proactive enforcement posture; the law itself is unchanged and remains in effect.