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ARTICLE · 01 AUGUST 2025

California Approves Rules Regulating AI In Employment Decision-making

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Effective October 1, 2025, updated regulations from the California Civil Rights Council will formally restrict the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in employment decision-making by California employers.

United StatesTechnology
Rachel Long
Rachel Long
Y. Douglas Yang
Y. Douglas Yang
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Effective October 1, 2025, updated regulations from the California Civil Rights Council will formally restrict the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in employment decision-making by California employers. In the employment context, these tools can be applied in a litany of ways to manage the workforce, including to screen resumes, make predictions about an applicant or employee, measure an applicant or employee's skills or abilities, direct job advertisements and recruiting materials to targeted groups, and screen, evaluate, and/or recommend applications or employees.

The New Rules Apply Existing Anti-Discrimination Law to AI Tools

Rather than devise an entirely new set of regulations concerning AI, the Civil Rights Council decided to amend the existing regulatory framework of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to any "automated decision system." As such, the AI regulations functionally treat AI as another source of potential impermissible

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