2026-01-01 · US-IL · in force now
Illinois employers must ensure AI used in recruiting, hiring, promotion, discipline, discharge, or training does not discriminate on a protected basis, and must notify applicants and employees when AI is used in employment decisions. Effective January 1, 2026.
What it requires
Under the Illinois Human Rights Act amendment (HB 3773), employers may not use AI systems that discriminate on a protected basis in employment contexts. You must also notify applicants and employees when AI is used to make or assist in employment decisions affecting them. This applies to AI used in recruiting, hiring, promotion, discipline, discharge, or training selection. Audit your current AI tools for disparate impact and ensure notification mechanisms are in place before the effective date.
Who it binds
Any Illinois employer using AI in recruiting, hiring, promotion, discipline, discharge, or training selection decisions. This includes in-house recruiting teams, HR departments, hiring managers, and vendors or consultants who build or operate AI employment systems on behalf of employers. The rule applies regardless of company size or whether AI is used for all or only some hiring and employment actions.
How to check whether you comply
Inventory all AI systems currently used in recruiting, hiring, promotion, discipline, or training—including resume screeners, interview tools, performance prediction algorithms, and workforce management systems.
Review your notification process: confirm that applicants receive notice before AI is used in hiring decisions, and that employees are notified when AI is used in promotion, discipline, discharge, or training selection.
Audit each AI tool for disparate impact on protected classes and document remediation steps if bias is detected.
What teams get wrong
The obligation is confirmed and now in effect (the deadline has passed). Focus immediately on notifying applicants and employees of AI use in employment decisions if you have not already, and on validating that your AI tools do not discriminate on a protected basis. Disparate impact is the standard, not just intentional discrimination.
This is one of 17 dated AI obligations we track
This one is already in force. There are 16 others across the EU, UK, and US, and they do not arrive in a convenient order. The AI Compliance Deadline Radar lists every one of them with a live countdown.
Get The AI Reg Brief — free. Twice a month, three minutes. Every issue leads with a countdown to the next deadline that binds you, so the one about to land finds you rather than the other way round.
TRAIGA (HB 149) — US-TX, 2026-01-01
Transparency in Frontier AI Act (SB 53) — US-CA, 2026-01-01
CCPA regulations — risk assessments — US-CA, 2026-01-01
Source
Not legal advice. This summarizes a public source so you can act on it; verify against the primary text before you rely on it.