New York City’s Department of Consumer & Worker Protection Delays Enforcement of the City’s Artificial Intelligence Law until April 15, 2023

Seyfarth Synopsis: New York City’s Department of Consumer & Worker Protection (“DCWP”) recently published a December update on its website indicating that due to the volume of comments it received in response to the proposed rules implementing Local Law 144 of 2021 (“Local Law 144”), which regulates employers’ use of automated employment decision tools, including artificial intelligence, a second public hearing will be held. As a result, the DCWP will not enforce Local Law 144 until April 15, 2023.  DCWP’s new hearing date is expected to follow.

On November 4, 2022, the DCWP held a hearing to provide the public with an opportunity to comment on the Department’s proposed rules implementing Local Law 144.  The highly-anticipated hearing was well attended by various constituencies and resulted in roughly 180 pages of comments.  Unfortunately, at the conclusion of that hearing, DCWP did not provide a firm date on when the proposed rules would be finalized, leaving employers with additional questions and concerns given the laws January 1, 2023 effective date. For further reading about the hearing and our past coverage can be found here.

As a result of the public response to Local Law 144’s proposed rules, DCWP has now published an update on its website indicating that a second public hearing will be held, and that enforcement of the law will be postponed until April 15, 2023. While this is a welcomed development considering the list of ambiguities that remain, the announcement is light on details and DCWP has not provided the date additional comments are due, when the second public hearing will be held, or when the employer community can expect final regulations to be published.

In the meantime, Seyfarth will continue to monitor any developments with the proposed rules implementing Local Law 144 and will provide updates when available.