Illinois HB 3773: AI Discrimination in Employment

Illinois HB 3773 was signed as Public Act 103-0804 on August 9, 2024, with an effective date of January 1, 2026. It amended the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA). For recruitment, hiring, promotion, renewal, training or apprenticeship selection, discharge, discipline, tenure, or terms, privileges, or conditions of employment, it makes it a civil-rights violation for an employer to use artificial intelligence that has the effect of subjecting employees to discrimination based on protected classes under the IHRA. The provision concerns discriminatory effect; the statute does not require proof that the employer intended discrimination. The Act separately prohibits using zip codes as a proxy for protected classes in those employment contexts. This matters because location can encode patterns associated with protected status even where a model does not receive a protected-class field directly. The statute does not say that every use of location data is automatically unlawful; the key question is whether the employer uses zip codes as a proxy for protected classes in covered actions. The law also requires notice to an employee that the employer is using AI for those covered purposes. The Department of Human Rights must adopt rules on the circumstances, timing, and means of notice. HB 3773 amended the IHRA, not a general AI-licensing scheme. The amended Act defines AI to include generative AI. Employers remain responsible when they use vendors. Notice does not legalize discrimination or replace accommodation, recordkeeping, or federal duties. For implementation, inventory AI used across hiring and employment decisions, determine whether inputs or features include zip codes or correlated geographic variables, examine outcomes across protected groups, and deliver notice according to current Department rules. Preserve versions, decision records, and vendor documentation. Distinguish this law from the older Video Interview Act, which has different consent, deletion, and reporting triggers.