New York requires audits of hiring tools
On 11 December 2021 New York City's Local Law 144 became law: from 1 January 2023 an employer may not screen candidates with an automated tool unless it has had a bias audit within a year before use and a summary of the audit has been made public; candidates must be notified at least ten business days in advance.
Why it matters
The law required those who use an algorithm in hiring to measure its disparate impact on groups of people in advance and show the result publicly. Earlier norms asked for consent or an explanation; this one asks for a measurement.
A tool is any computational process derived from machine learning, statistical modelling, data analytics or AI that issues a score, classification or recommendation and substantially assists or replaces discretion in a hiring or promotion decision. An audit is an impartial evaluation by an independent auditor, at least a test of disparate impact by race, ethnicity and sex in the categories of federal employer reporting. The audit and the publication are two conditions together. A candidate may request an alternative selection process; the type and source of data must be given within 30 days of a written request. Penalties are up to 500 dollars for a first violation and 500 to 1,500 for each subsequent one, each day of use without an audit a separate violation. The record does not describe the agency's rules adopted in 2023: the rules site did not answer. The Council's site was also unreachable; the text was read in an archived copy of its record.