In this series we will investigate some ways in which states differ from each other in their labor laws.
This week, California has established new honest employment and housing law instructions with regard to artificial intelligence (AI). Although employers can use legal automated decision systems (ADs) to screen CVs, evaluate the possibilities of applicants and assess the interview performance, employers are forbidden to use advertisements to discriminate against applicants based on a protected characteristic. All employers in California must save ad-related records for at least four years and data must contain the criteria for all advertising use and the results of an AI analysis.
California is not the only state that has established AI-related recruitment laws. The Illinois AI Video Interview Act requires employers who record video interviews and analyze them using AI to inform every such applicant before the interview, to provide any applicant information about how the AI evaluation works and gets permission for the recording. The Colorado Artificial Intelligence Act requires that employers: (1) use reasonable care to protect applicants against known or reasonably to be provided with risk of discriminatory treatment through the use of algorithms and (2) develop a risk management policy and implement annual impact assessments whether there are known or potential risks of discrimination. Various other states have proposed comparable AI-related non-discrimination laws, so more states will probably soon become members of California, Colorado and Illinois.
Although employers almost certainly do not use AI tools to deliberately discriminate applicants, AI tools (just like people) can have unintended prejudices that disproportionately influence applicants based on their handicap, race, national origin, sex or another protected property. Even if the state of an employer does not have AI Bias Act, employers must regularly check an AI tool that they implement to ensure that it is unbiased.
