United States — IllinoisIn forceRelevance to Chinese AI firms: HighAI regulationSector-specific

Illinois Human Rights Act provisions on AI in employment (HB 3773)

Illinois Human Rights Act section 2-102, subdivision (L): Use of artificial intelligence

Illinois General Assembly · 775 ILCS 5/2-102(L)（P.A. 103-804）

The provision brings employment-related use of AI into the civil rights violation framework of the Illinois Human Rights Act. Two violation types exist: using AI that has the effect of subjecting employees to discrimination on the basis of protected classes, or using ZIP codes as a proxy for protected classes, with respect to recruitment, hiring, promotion, renewal of employment, selection for training or apprenticeship, discharge, discipline, tenure, or the terms, privileges or conditions of employment; and failing to provide notice to an employee that AI is being used for those purposes. The Department of Human Rights must adopt rules on implementation and enforcement, including the circumstances and conditions requiring notice, the time period and the means. Compared with the intent standard in the Texas TRAIGA, this is an effects standard with a materially lower evidentiary bar.

Verified against official sources · 2026-09-12Partly secondary sources — verify before relying

Does this apply to me?

A Chinese company is caught when it: (1) employs staff in Illinois and uses algorithmic tools in resume screening, interview scoring, performance evaluation, scheduling, promotion or reduction-in-force decisions, requiring both absence of discriminatory effect and employee notice; (2) uses ZIP codes directly or indirectly as model features, including geographic features derived from addresses, since the proxy prohibition is express and free-standing; or (3) supplies recruiting, performance or workforce management AI to U.S. employers operating in Illinois, where the statutory duty sits with the employer but customers will contractually require fairness testing results and cooperation with investigations.

Key industries: All industries, Enterprise SaaS

Application timeline

2026-01-01
P.A. 103-804 takes effect
775 ILCS 5/2-102(L) applies: using AI with a discriminatory effect in employment, using ZIP codes as a proxy for protected classes and failing to notify employees of AI use each constitute a civil rights violation.

Obligations (2)

Each states its trigger, the evidence to retain and the clause it comes from

No discriminatory AI in employment and no ZIP codes as proxies

Severity High775 ILCS 5/2-102(L)(1)

With respect to recruitment, hiring, promotion, renewal of employment, selection for training or apprenticeship, discharge, discipline, tenure, or the terms, privileges or conditions of employment, it is a civil rights violation for an employer to use artificial intelligence that has the effect of subjecting employees to discrimination on the basis of protected classes under this Article, or to use ZIP codes as a proxy for protected classes. Note that the test is effect-based, unlike the intent-based test in the Texas TRAIGA.

Applies when: Chinese companies employing staff in Illinois that use AI in personnel decisions, and vendors supplying recruiting, performance or workforce AI to such employers, who will have the duty passed down contractually even though the statute binds the employer.; Applies from: 2026-01-01
Evidence to retain: · Inventory of AI tools used in personnel processes with stated purposes
· Feature inventory and proxy-variable review records expressly excluding ZIP codes
· Outcome disparity analysis by protected class
· Vendor contract clauses on fairness testing and cooperation with investigations

Estimated first-time effort: 8–25 person-days (estimate, not a commitment)

Notify employees that AI is used in employment decisions

Severity Medium775 ILCS 5/2-102(L)(2)

It is a civil rights violation for an employer to fail to provide notice to an employee that the employer is using artificial intelligence for the purposes described above. The Illinois Department of Human Rights is directed to adopt rules for implementation and enforcement, including the circumstances and conditions requiring notice, the time period for providing it and the means of providing it, so the operative template and timing should follow those rules.

Applies when: Employers with employees in Illinois.; Applies from: 2026-01-01
Evidence to retain: · Employee notice text and delivery records
· Coverage list keyed to each personnel process in which AI is used
· Tracking record for the Department of Human Rights rules and the resulting template versions
· Workflow description for onboarding notices and periodic reminders to existing staff

Estimated first-time effort: 2–6 person-days (estimate, not a commitment)

Penalties

A violation is a civil rights violation under the Illinois Human Rights Act, with remedies and procedures following Articles 7A and 8A of that Act. Penalty and remedy amounts were not retrieved item by item in this pass and are therefore not stated numerically.

Known uncertainty

The circumstances, timing and means of the notice are to be set by rules of the Illinois Department of Human Rights, and whether those rules have been issued was not verified in this pass, so the notice template and trigger point remain uncertain until they are. The source note lists P.A. 103-797 (eff. 2025-01-01), 103-804 (eff. 2026-01-01) and 104-417 (eff. 2025-08-15) together; this entry draws conclusions only about subdivision (L).

Sources (1)

Illinois Human Rights Act, 775 ILCS 5/2-102 (including subdivision (L), Use of artificial intelligence)Illinois General Assembly (Illinois Compiled Statutes) · 775 ILCS 5/2-102(L) · retrieved 2026-09-12

Content as of 2026-09-12 · corpus 2026.09|Compiled from public official sources with links and review dates for compliance decision support. Rules change; have licensed professionals review before external disclosure, regulatory filing or contractual commitments.

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