We last wrote about New York City’s Automated Employment Decision Tool Law (the “AEDT Law” or the “Law”) in September following the release of the proposed rules (“Proposed Rules”) to implement the Law, which requires covered employers to conduct annual independent bias audits and to publicly post a summary of those results.  Now, on December 12, 2022, the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (“DCWP”), the City agency responsible for enforcing the Law, has announced that it will delay enforcement of the Law from January 1, 2023 to April 15, 2023.  The DCWP plans to hold a second public hearing on the AEDT Law in light of the high volume of comments it has received.  The second hearing has not yet been scheduled.

This announcement comes in the wake of comments at the first public hearing, held on November 4, 2022, advocating for such a delay in the AEDT Law’s enforcement.  Commenters at that hearing expressed concern that employers would not have enough time to come into compliance with finalized rules—which are still pending and will not be issued until after the second public hearing—before the January 1, 2023 effective date.

At the first public hearing, commenters also offered thoughts on a number of perceived ambiguities and shortcomings in both the AEDT Law’s text and in the Proposed Rules.  For example, commenters focused on the lack of clarity on how employers should handle bias audit results where little to no data is available for the categories of race, ethnicity, and sex that must be audited under the Law, as well as with respect to those categories’ intersections.  Another commentator questioned the usefulness of the Impact Ratio metric that the proposed rules would require as part of a compliant bias audit.  Others questioned the definition of tools covered by the Law and raised concerns about the standard of independence required of the auditor.

We continue to monitor developments on the AEDT Law.  Hopefully the second public hearing will be held soon and the final rules will come shortly after, allowing employers sufficient time to come into full compliance before enforcement begins on April 15, 2023.

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Avi Gesser is Co-Chair of the Debevoise Data Strategy & Security Group. His practice focuses on advising major companies on a wide range of cybersecurity, privacy and artificial intelligence matters. He can be reached at agesser@debevoise.com.

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Jyotin Hamid, a partner in the New York office, is a seasoned litigator with extensive courtroom experience. He handles a diverse array of complex commercial litigation matters, with a particular focus on employment litigation and intellectual property disputes. He has represented major companies in their most challenging commercial matters. In the employment area, he has successfully handled numerous whistleblower, discrimination, contract, compensation and corporate raiding litigations involving high-level executives in a broad range of industries. Mr. Hamid also counsels employers on their most sensitive personnel matters, including investigations of alleged executive misconduct. He is also deeply involved in Debevoise’s market-leading intellectual property practice, and he has litigated trademark and trade dress cases involving some of the most well-known brands in the world.

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Tricia Bozyk Sherno is a member of Debevoise's Litigation Department, concentrating in employment and general commercial litigation. She has a broad-gauged employment law practice, with experience representing clients in matters involving discrimination and harassment, contracts, corporate raiding and compensation across a broad range of industries. She can be reached at tbsherno@debevoise.com.

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Anna R. Gressel is an associate and a member of the firm’s Data Strategy & Security Group and its FinTech and Technology practices. Her practice focuses on representing clients in regulatory investigations, supervisory examinations, and civil litigation related to artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. Ms. Gressel has a deep knowledge of regulations, supervisory expectations, and industry best practices with respect to AI governance and compliance. She regularly advises boards and senior legal executives on governance, risk, and liability issues relating to AI, privacy, and data governance. She can be reached at argressel@debevoise.com.

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Scott M. Caravello is an associate in the litigation department. He can be reached at smcaravello@debevoise.com