AI Policy & Governance, Privacy & Data
CDT Comments to New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection on Proposed Regulations on Automated Employment Decision Tools
On October 24, 2022, the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) submitted comments to the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection on its proposed rules implementing Local Law 144, which addresses the use of automated employment decision tools (AEDTs).
Upon Local Law 144’s passage, CDT published an analysis explaining that the law’s requirements do not go far enough to ensure that AEDTs are examined for potential discrimination or that employers give candidates proper notice regarding how the tools will evaluate them. The proposed rules will reduce the law’s already-limited effectiveness against discriminatory hiring technologies.
In its comments to the Department, CDT recommends five changes to the proposed rules to avoid further narrowing the law’s protections:
- Rejecting the narrow proposed definition of “automated employment decision tool,” and particularly the narrow interpretation of what it means for an AEDT to “substantially assist” discretionary decision-making.
- Adopting a broader interpretation of the phrase “to screen candidates for employment” that covers the use of targeted advertisements and other practices that effectively determine whether someone will obtain or retain a job.
- Incorporating broad definitions of “employment agency” found in New York State’s laws and the City’s anti-discrimination laws.
- Strengthening the independence of “independent auditors” by requiring that they certify audit results and be free of conflicts of interest.
- Ensuring that candidates are given clear and direct notice of the nature of AEDTs that they may encounter, and affirming employers’ duty to provide accommodation to disabled workers.
