NYC Local Law 144 Explained: Bias Audits for AI Hiring Tools

Short answer: New York City Local Law 144 of 2021 is in force as of October 5, 2026. It is a city law. The state did not pass it, and it covers hiring and promotion in New York City only. It bars an employer or employment agency (a firm that places workers with employers) from using an automated employment decision tool, which is software that scores, ranks or sorts job candidates.

Before use, the tool needs a bias audit from the past year, a posted summary of the results, and notice to candidates 10 business days ahead. The city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) enforces it. The law allows fines of up to $500 for a first violation and $500 to $1,500 for later ones. This is not legal advice. Confirm the current text before you act on it.

TL;DR

• Status on October 5, 2026: in force since January 1, 2023, enforced since July 5, 2023. The code host shows no amendment to the law.
• Who: employers and employment agencies that use a covered tool to screen candidates for jobs in New York City, or employees for promotion there.
• What: an independent bias audit every year, a public summary of it, and advance notice to candidates or employees who live in the city. The top trap is a stale audit: a tool cannot be used once its audit is over a year old.
• Enforcement: DCWP, mostly through complaints. The State Comptroller's December 2025 audit called its enforcement system ineffective.

Why this is a city law

Most AI hiring rules people read about come from states. This one does not. The New York City Council passed it, and it sits in the New York City Administrative Code, the city's own set of laws. The sections are 20-870 to 20-874. DCWP wrote the rules that fill in the details. They sit in Title 6 of the Rules of the City of New York (6 RCNY), chapter 5, subchapter T (a labeled group of rules). A rule is a regulation, meaning a binding detail set by an agency under a law. For the difference, see what a regulation is. For a state AI law, read the Colorado AI law guide.

The dates, in order

• November 10, 2021: the City Council passed the bill. The mayor returned it unsigned on December 13, 2021, so it became law without his signature.
• January 1, 2023: the law's stated effective date.
• April 6, 2023: DCWP published its final rule, after public hearings on November 4, 2022 and January 23, 2023.
• July 5, 2023: the rule took effect and DCWP began enforcing the law.
• December 2, 2025: the New York State Comptroller issued an audit of how DCWP enforces it (report 2024-N-6).
• Current law: the Council file and the May 2026 code edition show no amendment since 2021. Local Law 25 of 2026 orders a city study of automated hiring tools and city employees. It borrows this law's definition and changes no duties.
• Watch list: a bill to create an AI oversight office inside DCWP (Introduction 919 of 2026) was filed on May 20, 2026 and awaits action by a Council committee. The Council's September 25, 2026 list of AI bills for its October 5 hearing names none that changes this law. It says more bills will follow.

The city code is hosted by American Legal Publishing, whose site labels its current edition May 2026. The history line on the penalty section lists only the original law.

What counts as an automated hiring tool

In plain words, it is software that uses data-driven methods to score or sort people, where the result carries real weight in who gets hired or promoted. The law's definition in section 20-870 has four parts:

• It is a "computational process," meaning a step-by-step calculation run by a computer.
• It is "derived from machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, or artificial intelligence." These are ways software learns or calculates from data. The rule narrows them to techniques that predict an outcome or sort people into groups, where a computer at least in part picks the inputs and how much each counts.
• It "issues simplified output, including a score, classification, or recommendation."
• That output "is used to substantially assist or replace discretionary decision making for making employment decisions that impact natural persons," meaning real people rather than companies.

The key phrase is "substantially assist or replace." The DCWP rule, 6 RCNY § 5-300, says it means any one of three things: relying only on the tool's output, using the output as the factor weighted more than any other, or using the output to overrule other conclusions, including a human's. A tool that only converts a resume from PDF or transcribes an interview is not covered. The law also carves out tools that do not support or replace discretionary decisions and do not materially affect people. Its examples are a junk email filter, firewall, antivirus software, calculator, spreadsheet, database or other compilation of data.

An "employment decision" is narrow. The law defines it as "to screen candidates for employment or employees for promotion within the city." DCWP's FAQ says this covers any point in the hiring process, including early screening. It does not cover scanning a resume bank or sending outreach to people who have not applied for a specific job.

The law only reaches use "in the city." Under the FAQ, that means the job is in a New York City office at least part time, or the job is fully remote but tied to a city office, or the employment agency is based in the city.

Who must do what

The right column gives the legal source if you want to verify a duty.

The duty falls on the employer or agency. DCWP's FAQ says the vendor that built the tool is not responsible for the audit, though a vendor may arrange one. DCWP keeps no list of approved auditors. Under 6 RCNY § 5-300, an auditor is not independent if they worked on the tool, work for the employer or the vendor, or have a direct financial interest in either, or an indirect one of real size, such as shares in the vendor.

Notice can go on the employment section of a website, in a job posting, or by mail or email (§ 5-304(b)). For a promotion, a written policy also works (§ 5-304(c)).

What a bias audit measures

A bias audit is "an impartial evaluation by an independent auditor." Under the rule, it must report two numbers for sex groups, race and ethnicity groups, and the groups formed by combining them. The selection rate is the share of a group that moved forward. The impact ratio is one group's rate divided by the rate of the group with the highest rate. If a tool scores people instead, the rate is the share scoring above the median.

Example: if 50 of 100 men and 40 of 100 women advance, the selection rates are 50 and 40 percent, and the women's impact ratio is 40 divided by 50, or 0.8. The audit must also count people it could not place in a group. An auditor may skip a group under 2 percent of the data if the summary explains why.

The law sets no pass mark. DCWP's FAQ says it "does not require any specific actions based on the results of a bias audit." Anti-discrimination laws still apply, and DCWP sends bias claims to the city Commission on Human Rights.

Penalties and who enforces

Section 20-872 sets a civil penalty, meaning a money fine imposed through a civil proceeding. It is "not more than $500 for a first violation and each additional violation occurring on the same day as the first violation, and not less than $500 nor more than $1,500 for each subsequent violation." Each day a tool is used in violation is a separate violation, and each missing notice is a separate violation.

DCWP's penalty schedule, 6 RCNY § 6-81, sets first violations at $375, second violations at $1,350, and third and later ones at $1,500. A repeat counts when the same business breaks the same provision again within two years. If a business does not answer the charge, a "default," the amounts are $500, $1,500 and $1,500. Charges go to a city hearing tribunal, such as one inside the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (section 20-872(d)). The city's lawyer, called the corporation counsel, may also go to court (section 20-873). Anyone can file a complaint with DCWP or by calling 311.

On lawsuits that candidates or employees file themselves, section 20-874 says this part of the code "shall not be construed to limit any right of any candidate or employee ... to bring a civil action," meaning to file a lawsuit. It does not itself give a candidate a right to sue under this law. Claims under other laws stay open.

What the State Comptroller found

The audit covered July 2023 through June 2025. Its findings:

• DCWP received only two complaints about hiring tools in that period.
• The auditors made 12 test calls to 311 to file a complaint. Only 3 were sent to DCWP. Eight went to the State Department of Labor, and one caller was told to go to the employer.
• DCWP checked 32 company websites (22 employers and 10 vendors) and found one issue. It sent demand letters, which ask a business to prove it complies, to two employers. The auditors reviewed the same companies and found at least 17 possible violations.
• DCWP referred no case to the city's technology office for technical help.

The audit made 13 recommendations. The report says DCWP "generally agreed" with them. DCWP also pushed back on parts of the findings. Low complaint volume is no safeguard. Keep the audit current, keep proof of every notice, and read the report before you assume enforcement stays thin.

NYC Local Law 144 checklist for employers

1. List every tool that scores, ranks or sorts applicants or staff up for promotion, including ones inside an applicant tracking system, which is software employers use to collect and manage job applications.
2. For each, ask three things. Does it use machine learning or similar methods? Does it produce a score, tag, ranking or recommendation? Does that output decide alone, count the most, or overrule people?
3. If a tool is covered, ask the vendor for the audit date, a statement that the auditor is independent, the data source, the selection rates and the impact ratios, and a link to the public summary.
4. Post the summary and the date the tool went live on the careers page.
5. Add the notice to job postings and send it to city residents at least 10 business days before use.
6. Put the audit date on a calendar and name one owner, such as HR compliance or legal operations. A tool cannot be used once the audit is over a year old.
7. Keep proof: save the posted summary, the notice text, the send dates and the job postings.

A worked example

A Manhattan employer uses software that ranks 500 applicants for a sales job, and the top 50 get interviews. The ranking counts most, so the tool is covered. Before first use, the employer needs an audit under a year old, a posted summary and notice to city-resident applicants 10 business days ahead. If the audit on the careers page is 14 months old, the rule bars further use of the tool (6 RCNY § 5-301(a)). Each day of use after that is a separate violation.

What goes wrong

The common error is a stale audit: the posted summary is more than a year old and nobody noticed. The next is a vendor audit that fails the independence test or leaves out the data source. The third is skipping notice because the tool only "assists." The rule's own example says an early resume screen counts, even when a person makes the final call.

FAQ

Is NYC Local Law 144 in effect? Yes. It took effect January 1, 2023, and DCWP has enforced it since July 5, 2023. The sources above show no amendment as of October 5, 2026.

Does it apply to remote jobs or applicants outside New York City? The tool must be used "in the city." A fully remote job counts only if it is tied to a city office. Notice goes to candidates who live in the city.

Do I have to stop using a tool that shows bias? The law does not say so. It requires the audit and the public summary. Other discrimination laws may still apply.

Is a resume screener covered? Only if it meets the definition, which turns on whether its output carries the most weight or overrules other factors. DCWP told the auditors it must look at how each tool is built and used.

Where do I read the official text? The DCWP page links the rule and the FAQ. The Council's file for Local Law 144 holds the signed text. The Comptroller's audit page holds the report.

How do I cite it? The law is N.Y.C. Admin. Code §§ 20-870 to 20-874, and the rule is 6 RCNY §§ 5-300 to 5-304. See how to cite a statute or regulation in plain English. For state law, see how to find and cite New York law. The wider map is in US Law Data: The Complete Guide.

For the state statutes and federal regulations that sit beside city rules like this one, see the US primary law API, a data service that software can call to pull statute and regulation text.

Priyansh Khodiyar

Co-Founder & CTO

Priyansh leads engineering and AI at Vaquill AI: the pipelines that pull statutes, regulations and court rules from every US jurisdiction's official publisher, and the REST API, MCP server and open dataset that serve them.