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NYC Local Law 144 (Automated Employment Decision Tools)

Effective date

Penalty

$375 to $1,500 per violation. Each day of AEDT use without bias audit is a separate violation. Each person not notified is a separate violation.

Obligations mapped

5 obligations

Live Update

Legislative update

A December 2025 NYC Comptroller audit found the enforcement agency (DCWP) reviewed only 32 companies and identified limited violations. The Comptroller's own review found 17 potential violations, signaling increased enforcement scrutiny. The NY RAISE Act (S6953B) would create a statewide AI governance framework that may interact with LL144.

Overview

If your company uses automated tools to screen resumes, rank candidates, or evaluate employees for hiring or promotion in New York City, Local Law 144 may apply. Before using the tool, where applicable you may need to have an independent auditor complete a bias audit testing for disparate impact across sex, race, and ethnicity categories. Where applicable, you may need to publish the audit results on your website and notify every candidate that the tool is being used and what it evaluates. Each day you use the tool without a current audit is a separate violation ($375 to $1,500). Each person you fail to notify is a separate violation.

This is a municipal AI regulation.

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Who this applies to

This regulation applies to the following roles:

  • Deployers and users of covered AI systems and tools
  • Organizations operating in New York City

This regulation applies to companies that use or deploy AI tools and systems built by other vendors. If your company uses AI-powered products in the areas listed below, this regulation may apply to you.

Section 20-871(a)(1); 6 RCNY Section 5-301 · Section 20-871(a)(2); 6 RCNY Section 5-303 and related sections

AI categories covered

  • automated employment decision

Specific AI use cases:

  • hiring screening
  • promotion evaluation
  • Resume screening and ranking
  • candidate ranking
  • Video interview analysis
  • Candidate assessment and scoring
  • Workforce scheduling and optimization

What this requires you to do

5 obligations identified from statutory analysis.

Section 20-871(a)(1); 6 RCNY Section 5-301

Section 20-871(b)(3); 6 RCNY Section 5-304(d)

Section 20-871(b)(2); 6 RCNY Section 5-304(b)

Section 20-871(b)(1); 6 RCNY Section 5-304(a)-(c)

Section 20-871(a)(2); 6 RCNY Section 5-303

Regulation summaries are simplified for readability and may not capture every nuance of the underlying statute. Verify important details against primary sources linked on this page.

Enforcement and penalties

$375 to $1,500 per violation. Each day of AEDT use without bias audit is a separate violation. Each person not notified is a separate violation.

Penalty amounts are based on statutory text and may be subject to adjustment, judicial interpretation, or enforcement discretion.

Source verification

Verified against enrolled statute text

View source text

Legislative history

guidance issued

Law firms warn of incoming stricter enforcement phase

enforcement action

NY State Comptroller audit finds DCWP enforcement ineffective. 75% of 311 calls misrouted, only 1 of 32 flagged companies despite 17+ violations.

effective

Enforcement begins

delayed

DCWP delays enforcement from April 15 to July 5, 2023

effective

Statutory effective date

signed

Enacted as Local Law 144 of 2021 by Mayor de Blasio

Related regulations

New York AI regulation guide lists every tracked rule for this jurisdiction with timelines and obligation tallies.

Regulation summaries are simplified for readability and may not capture every nuance of the underlying statute. Verify important details against primary sources linked on this page.