Indiana employers would face limits on automated hiring and work decisions

Covered employers would be barred from relying only on an automated tool to make a job decision. The rules cover applicants and paid workers at businesses with 11 or more workers and applicants combined, state agencies, and local governments. Before an employer uses a tool's output, the tool must be tested and its use must meet the bill's safeguards. Results of bias tests must be public. The employer must give notice, have an experienced person check the output, explain its use after the decision, and allow a human challenge.

Covered employers would tell people about planned or current use of automated output and explain its use after a decision. The notices cover applicants and paid workers at businesses with 11 or more workers and applicants combined, state agencies, and local governments. The notice must say whether automated output is or will be used. After a decision, the employer must explain how it used the output in plain language. People hired on or before July 1, 2026, would get notice by August 1, 2026. Later hires would get it before hiring. The explanation would be due within seven days after a decision.

Covered employers would provide human review of automated results and let workers leave automated management. Applicants and paid workers could challenge results. Paid workers managed by an automated system could choose a human manager at covered businesses and public employers. A person could dispute an automated result with an experienced human. An appeal would go to a different person from the one who first checked the result. A worker who opts out of automated management must have a human manager able to make job decisions. A person could challenge the result after receiving the employer's explanation.

Covered employers would be barred from punishing people for using these rights or reporting a possible violation. It covers applicants and paid workers at businesses with 11 or more workers and applicants combined, state agencies, and local governments. It also protects them if someone complains at their request. The protection includes complaints to an employer or government office, requests for help, and participation in an inquiry.

Affected workers, applicants, and labor groups could sue over an alleged violation. A covered worker or applicant, or a labor group, must be affected by an alleged violation to bring a case. They must notify the Labor Department in writing before suing. If they win, a court could award damages or order relief, and it must award reasonable legal fees and costs. The department must decide whether to join the case within 60 days after receiving notice.