What is NYC Local Law 144?
- NYC Local Law 144 regulates automated employment decision tools used in NYC hiring and promotion.
- Its signature requirement is an independent bias audit, with results summarised publicly.
- It also requires notice to candidates and employees when an AEDT is used.
- It affects employers using such tools and the vendors who supply them, and is an influential model.
- Current as of June 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.
What the law covers
Local Law 144 took effect on 1 January 2023 with enforcement from 5 July 2023. It is enforced by the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, with civil penalties of up to 500 dollars for a first violation and 500 to 1,500 dollars for each subsequent violation, each day of noncompliant use counting separately.
Local Law 144 applies to automated employment decision tools used by employers and employment agencies for hiring or promotion decisions for positions in New York City. An AEDT is, broadly, a tool that uses machine learning, statistics, or similar techniques to substantially assist or replace human decision-making in employment. If you use such a tool in NYC hiring or promotion, the law is likely relevant.
The bias audit requirement
The law's signature requirement is the independent bias audit. Before using an AEDT, and on an ongoing basis, the tool must undergo a bias audit by an independent auditor, examining whether it produces disparate outcomes across protected categories such as sex and race or ethnicity. A summary of the audit results must be made publicly available. This requirement is what makes Local Law 144 notable: it mandates concrete, independent testing for bias.
The notice requirement
The law also requires that candidates and employees be notified when an AEDT is used in relation to them, with information about the tool. Notice must include instructions for requesting an alternative selection process or a reasonable accommodation, though the DCWP has clarified the law does not itself oblige the employer to provide an alternative process.
Who it affects
The law affects employers and employment agencies using AEDTs for NYC positions, and indirectly the vendors who supply such tools, since employers will look to those vendors to support the bias audit and provide the necessary information. A vendor selling hiring AI into NYC employers should expect questions about Local Law 144.
Why it matters beyond NYC
Local Law 144 has been influential as an early, concrete model for regulating AI in a specific high-stakes use, hiring. Its bias-audit-and-notice approach is the kind of targeted measure other jurisdictions may emulate. For organisations, it is both a direct obligation where relevant and an indicator of how regulators may approach AI in employment more broadly.
A note on detail and evolution
The detailed scope, audit methodology, and requirements of Local Law 144 are specific and have been the subject of guidance and refinement. Treat this as an overview and confirm the current detailed requirements against official New York City sources before relying on specifics, particularly the precise definition of a covered AEDT and the audit methodology.
Key terms
- AEDT
- Automated employment decision tool used to assist or replace hiring or promotion decisions.
- Bias audit
- Independent testing of an AEDT for disparate outcomes across protected groups.
- Independent auditor
- An auditor not involved in using, developing, or distributing the tool.
- Candidate notice
- Required disclosure to candidates and employees when an AEDT is used.