SF-4689
MN · State · USA
MN
USA
● Pending
Proposed Effective Date
2026-09-01
Minnesota S.F. No. 4689 — A bill for an act relating to employment; regulating the use of automated decision systems in employment settings; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 181
Regulates employer use of automated decision systems (ADS) for employment-related decisions in Minnesota. Requires employers to provide detailed pre-use written notices to affected workers, unions, and the commissioner of labor and industry before deploying or significantly modifying an ADS, and to obtain affirmative written consent from workers. Imposes substantive prohibitions on employer use of ADS, including bans on inferring protected characteristics, using facial/gait/emotion recognition, and retaliating against workers who refuse ADS outputs. Requires mandatory human review with corroboration for all employment decisions informed by ADS, and prohibits sole reliance on ADS. Grants workers rights to access their data, request corrections, and appeal decisions through a structured process with independent human reviewers. Enforced by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry and the Attorney General, with a private right of action for aggrieved workers. Civil penalties range from $1,000 to $2,500 per violation per day affected, plus actual and punitive damages, equitable relief, and attorney fees.
Summary

Regulates employer use of automated decision systems (ADS) for employment-related decisions in Minnesota. Requires employers to provide detailed pre-use written notices to affected workers, unions, and the commissioner of labor and industry before deploying or significantly modifying an ADS, and to obtain affirmative written consent from workers. Imposes substantive prohibitions on employer use of ADS, including bans on inferring protected characteristics, using facial/gait/emotion recognition, and retaliating against workers who refuse ADS outputs. Requires mandatory human review with corroboration for all employment decisions informed by ADS, and prohibits sole reliance on ADS. Grants workers rights to access their data, request corrections, and appeal decisions through a structured process with independent human reviewers. Enforced by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry and the Attorney General, with a private right of action for aggrieved workers. Civil penalties range from $1,000 to $2,500 per violation per day affected, plus actual and punitive damages, equitable relief, and attorney fees.

Enforcement & Penalties
Enforcement Authority
Commissioner of Labor and Industry is the primary enforcement authority, with power to investigate alleged violations, order temporary relief, issue citations, and file civil actions. The attorney general may also bring civil actions under section 8.31. Private right of action available to a worker aggrieved by the violation, or the worker's exclusive representative. Employers and labor contractors or vendors engaged by an employer are jointly and severally liable.
Penalties
Civil penalties of $1,000 per violation for violations of pre-use notice (§ 181.9922) or post-use notice (§ 181.9925), with each day a worker is affected constituting a separate violation. Civil penalties of $2,500 per violation for violations of records (§ 181.9923), employer requirements (§ 181.9924), or right to appeal (§ 181.9926), with each day a worker is affected constituting a separate violation and each use of an automated decision system constituting a separate violation under § 181.9924. In civil actions, employers may be liable for any and all damages recoverable at law, including punitive damages, injunctive and other equitable relief, costs and disbursements, and reasonable attorney fees. Statutory damages do not require proof of actual monetary harm.
Who Is Covered
"Employer" means any person who directly or indirectly, or through an agent, vendor, or any other person, employs or exercises control over the wages, benefits, other compensation, hours, working conditions, access to work or job opportunities, or other terms or conditions of employment, of any worker. Employer includes all units of state and local government but does not include the federal government. Employer includes a labor contractor or vendor of a person defined as an employer under this paragraph.
What Is Covered
"Automated decision system" means any computational process derived from machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, or artificial intelligence that issues simplified output, including a score, classification, or recommendation, that is used to assist or replace human discretionary decision making and materially impacts natural persons. An automated decision system does not include a spam email filter, a firewall, antivirus software, identity and access management tools, a calculator, a database, a dataset, or another compilation of data.
Compliance Obligations 11 obligations · click obligation ID to open requirement page
H-01 Human Oversight of Automated Decisions · H-01.3 · Deployer · EmploymentAutomated Decisionmaking
§ 181.9922, Subd. 1(a)-(f), Subd. 2
Plain Language
Before deploying any automated decision system for employment-related decisions, employers must provide a detailed written pre-use notice to all affected workers (including job applicants and independent contractors), their authorized representatives, and any union representing affected workers. For new systems, notice must go out at least 30 days before introduction; for existing systems, by September 1, 2026. The notice must describe the system's purpose, what data it collects, the logic used, who created and manages it, what it evaluates, impact assessment results, a list of all ADS in use, and workers' rights. Notice must be in plain language and in the language normally used for workplace communications. Workers must provide affirmative written consent before being subject to an ADS, and must be allowed to opt out if reasonable alternatives exist. A copy of each notice must be filed with the Commissioner of Labor and Industry within 10 days.
Statutory Text
Subdivision 1. Pre-use notice; provision. (a) An employer must provide a written notice that an automated decision system is in use at the workplace for the purpose of making employment-related decisions, to a worker who will be directly or indirectly affected by the automated decision system, or the worker's authorized representative, and to any union representing workers who could be directly or indirectly affected by the automated decision system. (b) The notice in paragraph (a) must be provided: (1) if the automated decision system is introduced after the effective date of this section, at least 30 days before the introduction of the automated decision system; (2) if the employer is using an existing automated decision system as of the effective date of this section, no later than September 1, 2026; (3) prominently to a job applicant or new worker, before the employer collects the applicant's or worker's personal information that the employer plans to process using the automated decision system; (4) at least 30 days before implementing any significant change to the automated decision system or how the employer is using the automated decision system; and (5) to a union representing workers who will be subject to the automated decision system, on a timeline that provides a meaningful opportunity to bargain over the use, scope, and impact of the automated decision system prior to deployment or modification of the tool. (c) Every time an employer provides a notice under paragraph (a), a copy of that notice must be submitted to the commissioner of labor and industry within ten days of the date the notice was provided to the worker. Copies of notices under paragraph (a) must also be made available to authorized representatives upon request. (d) Notices under paragraph (a) must be: (1) written in plain language as a separate and standalone communication; (2) in the language in which routine communications and other information are provided to workers; and (3) provided using a simple and easy-to-use method, including an email, hyperlink, or other written format. (e) A job applicant or worker must receive the notice required under this section and respond with affirmative written consent before the worker or applicant is subject to an automated decision system. (f) If reasonable alternatives to the use of the automated decision system exist, the worker must be allowed to opt out of being subject to the automated decision system. Subd. 2. Pre-use notice; contents. The notice required under subdivision 1, paragraph (a), must contain the following information: (1) a plain-language explanation of the nature, purpose, and scope of the decisions for which the automated decision system will be used, including the specific employment-related decisions potentially affected; (2) the specific category and sources of worker data the automated decision system will use or collect, and how that data was or will be collected; (3) the logic used in the automated decision system, including the key parameters that affect the output of the automated decision system, and the type of outputs the automated decision system will produce; (4) the individuals, vendors, and entities that created the automated decision system and the individuals, vendors, and entities that will run, manage, and interpret the results of the automated decision system output; (5) the job qualifications and characteristics that the automated decision system assesses, what worker data or attributes the system uses to conduct that assessment, and what kind of outputs the system produces as an evaluation of the worker; (6) the results of any impact assessments of the automated decision system, whether performed by the employer or the automated decision system vendor, and how to access that information; (7) an up-to-date list of all automated decision systems the employer is currently using; and (8) a description of the worker's rights under sections 181.9922 to 181.9927.
R-02 Regulatory Disclosure & Submissions · R-02.1 · Deployer · EmploymentAutomated Decisionmaking
§ 181.9922, Subd. 1(c)
Plain Language
Each time an employer provides a pre-use notice to workers about an automated decision system, the employer must also file a copy of that same notice with the Commissioner of Labor and Industry within 10 days. This is a continuing, event-triggered filing obligation — not a one-time submission. Copies must also be available to authorized representatives on request.
Statutory Text
(c) Every time an employer provides a notice under paragraph (a), a copy of that notice must be submitted to the commissioner of labor and industry within ten days of the date the notice was provided to the worker. Copies of notices under paragraph (a) must also be made available to authorized representatives upon request.
G-01 AI Governance Program & Documentation · G-01.3G-01.4 · Deployer · EmploymentAutomated Decisionmaking
§ 181.9923, Subd. 1(a)-(c)
Plain Language
Employers must retain all worker data collected, used, or produced by an automated decision system — including ADS inputs, outputs, and corroborating evidence used by human reviewers — for 36 months from the most recent collection, production, or use. Data must be destroyed no later than 37 months unless the worker has given written, informed consent to longer retention. Employers must also protect this data using security practices consistent with applicable data and cyber privacy laws, proportionate to the volume and nature of data collected. This creates both a retention floor (36 months) and a mandatory destruction ceiling (37 months), which is an unusually narrow and prescriptive window.
Statutory Text
Subdivision 1. Data records. (a) Employers must maintain records of worker data collected, used, or produced by an automated decision system and any input or output data used or produced by the automated decision system or used as corroborating evidence by a human reviewer for 36 months after the data's most recent collection, production, or use to ensure compliance with requests for data from workers or the commissioner of labor and industry. (b) Employers must destroy any worker data collected, used, or produced by an automated decision system and any input or output data used or produced by the automated decision system or used as corroborating evidence by a human reviewer no later than 37 months after its most recent collection, production, or use, unless the worker has provided written and informed consent to the retention of the worker's data by the employer. (c) Employers must protect the confidentiality, integrity, and accessibility of worker data using data security practices consistent with data and cyber privacy laws and appropriate to the volume and nature of the worker data collected.
D-01 Automated Processing Rights & Data Controls · D-01.1D-01.2 · Deployer · EmploymentAutomated Decisionmaking
§ 181.9923, Subd. 2(a)-(b), Subd. 3(a)-(d)
Plain Language
Workers have a right to request copies of all their data collected, used, or produced by an ADS — including inputs, outputs, and corroborating evidence used by human reviewers — and employers must respond within 7 days. Workers also have a right to request corrections to any of this data. Upon receiving a correction request, the employer must investigate and, if the data is inaccurate, promptly correct it, review and adjust any employment decisions based on the inaccurate data, and notify third parties who shared or provided the data. If the employer determines the data is accurate, it must inform the worker of the decision, the verification steps taken, and the supporting evidence. The correction right is notably expansive: it extends not just to the underlying worker data but to ADS outputs and human reviewer evidence, and requires remediation of decisions already made based on inaccurate data.
Statutory Text
Subd. 2. Record requests. (a) A worker has the right to request a copy of: (1) any of the worker's data collected, used, or produced by an automated decision system; (2) any input or output data used or produced by the automated decision system; and (3) corroborating evidence used by a human reviewer. (b) The employer must provide copies of the data requested within seven days of receiving a worker's request. Subd. 3. Record corrections. (a) A worker has the right to request corrections to: (1) any worker data collected, used, or produced by an automated decision system; (2) any input or output data used or produced by the automated decision system; and (3) any corroborating evidence used by a human reviewer. (b) An employer that receives a request to correct any of the information listed in paragraph (a) must investigate and determine whether the disputed data is inaccurate. (c) If an employer determines that the disputed data is inaccurate, the employer must: (1) promptly correct the disputed data and inform the worker of the employer's decision and action; (2) review and adjust any employment-related decisions that were partially or solely based on the inaccurate data and inform the worker of the adjustment; and (3) inform any third parties with which the employer shared the inaccurate data, or from which the employer received the inaccurate data, of the error and direct those third parties to correct the data. (d) If an employer, upon investigation, determines that the disputed data is accurate, the employer must inform the worker of: (1) the decision not to amend the disputed data; (2) the steps taken to verify the accuracy of the data; and (3) the evidence supporting the decision not to amend the disputed data.
S-02 Prohibited Conduct & Output Restrictions · Deployer · EmploymentAutomated Decisionmaking
§ 181.9924, Subd. 1(a)-(b)
Plain Language
Employers face six categorical prohibitions on ADS use: they may not use an ADS to (1) cause violations of law, (2) obtain or infer protected or sensitive characteristics including immigration status, religion, health/reproductive status, neural data, disability, or credit history, (3) predict behaviors unrelated to essential job functions, (4) target workers exercising legal rights, (5) use facial, gait, or emotion recognition, or (6) collect data for undisclosed purposes. Additionally, employers may use ADS for individualized compensation-setting only under narrow conditions: the input data must be directly task-related (e.g., education, experience), the inputs must be communicated to the worker, and the system may only be used once per six months per worker or in conjunction with a meaningful change in duties. The ban on inferring protected characteristics is exceptionally broad — it covers not just protected-class attributes but also political beliefs, neural data, and credit history.
Statutory Text
Subdivision 1. Prohibitions. (a) An employer is prohibited from using an automated decision system to: (1) prevent compliance with or cause a violation of any federal, state, or local law or regulation; (2) obtain or infer a worker's immigration status; veteran status; ancestral history; religious or political beliefs; health or reproductive status, history, or plan; emotional or psychological state; neural data; sexual or gender orientation; disability; criminal record; or credit history; (3) make predictions or inferences about a worker's behavior, beliefs, intentions, personality, emotional state, health, or other characteristics or behaviors that are unrelated to the worker's essential job functions; (4) identify, predict, or take adverse action against a worker for exercising the worker's legal rights; (5) draw on facial, gait, or emotion recognition technologies; or (6) collect data for a purpose that was not disclosed in the notice required by section 181.9922. (b) An employer must not use an automated decision system that uses individualized worker data as inputs or outputs to set compensation, unless the employer can demonstrate that: (1) the input data is directly related to the ability of the worker to complete the task, such as education, training, experience, or seniority; (2) the inputs used are clearly communicated to the worker such that the worker knows their compensation is a function of the identified attributes; and (3) the employer uses the automated decision system either: (i) not more than once per six-month period per worker; or (ii) only in conjunction with a meaningful change in work duties, such as hiring or promotion.
G-03 Whistleblower & Anti-Retaliation Protections · G-03.3 · Deployer · EmploymentAutomated Decisionmaking
§ 181.9924, Subd. 1(c)
Plain Language
Employers are prohibited from retaliating against workers who refuse to follow ADS output when the worker has a reasonable, good-faith belief that following the output would cause harm, discrimination, or a legal violation. This is a specific anti-retaliation protection for workers who exercise independent judgment against ADS recommendations — distinct from the general anti-retaliation provision in § 181.9927 which protects workers who exercise rights under the statute. Workers need only a reasonable, good-faith belief, not proof that harm or a violation would actually occur.
Statutory Text
(c) An employer must not retaliate against a worker in any way for refusing to follow the output of an automated decision system when the worker has a reasonable, good-faith belief that doing so would cause harm or discrimination or otherwise violate a law or regulation.
Other · EmploymentAutomated Decisionmaking
§ 181.9924, Subd. 1(d)
Plain Language
Employers may not take adverse employment actions against workers based on data from continuous time-tracking tools, with only a narrow exception for egregious misconduct. This effectively renders continuous time-tracking data unusable for most employment decisions — including discipline, scheduling, performance evaluation, or termination — even if the data is accurate. The exception for 'egregious misconduct' is not defined, which will likely create interpretive uncertainty.
Statutory Text
(d) An employer must not take any adverse action against a worker based on data from a continuous time-tracking tool, except in cases of egregious misconduct.
H-01 Human Oversight of Automated Decisions · H-01.6 · Deployer · EmploymentAutomated Decisionmaking
§ 181.9924, Subd. 2(a)-(d)
Plain Language
Employers may never rely solely on an ADS for employment-related decisions — a human must always be in the loop. When using an ADS to inform a decision, the employer must verify the output's accuracy and designate an internal reviewer who independently investigates and compiles corroborating information. The reviewer must have authority, discretion, resources, expertise in ADS operations, training on system biases and worker rights, and retaliation protection. Critically, if the reviewer cannot corroborate the ADS output or finds it inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading, the employer must not rely on the ADS for that decision. This goes beyond typical 'human in the loop' requirements by mandating affirmative corroboration with independent evidence and imposing disqualification when corroboration fails.
Statutory Text
Subd. 2. Employment-related decisions. (a) An employer must not rely solely on an automated decision system when making an employment-related decision. (b) When an employer relies in part on an automated decision system in making an employment-related decision, the employer must: (1) ensure the accuracy of the automated decision system output; and (2) use a designated internal reviewer to conduct an investigation and compile corroborating information for the decision. This information may include but is not limited to supervisory or managerial evaluations, personnel files, employee work products, or peer reviews. (c) The designated internal reviewer must: (1) have sufficient authority, discretion, resources, and time to corroborate the automated decision system output; (2) have sufficient expertise in the operation of similar systems and a sufficient understanding of the automated decision system in question to interpret the outputs and results of relevant impact assessments; (3) have sufficient education, training, or experience to allow the reviewer to make a well-informed decision, including education about the limitations and biases of automated decision systems and training on workers' rights under sections 181.9922 to 181.9927; and (4) be protected from retaliation for exercising the reviewer's responsibilities. (d) When an employer cannot corroborate the automated decision system output, or the human reviewer has concluded that the automated decision system output is inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading, the employer must not rely on the automated decision system to make the employment-related decision.
H-01 Human Oversight of Automated Decisions · H-01.1H-01.2 · Deployer · EmploymentAutomated Decisionmaking
§ 181.9925, Subd. 1(a)-(d), Subd. 2(a)-(c)
Plain Language
After using an ADS to inform an employment decision, the employer must send the affected worker a post-decision notice acknowledging ADS use, describing the worker's rights, providing an appeal form or link, and affirming anti-retaliation protection. Standard timing is at the time the worker learns of the decision or within 15 business days, whichever is earlier; for discipline or termination, notice must come at least 30 days before the action takes effect. For repeated identical ADS use, a full notice is required for the first use each quarter, with a summary notice at quarter-end. Upon a worker's access request, the employer must respond within 14 calendar days with granular information: a plain-language explanation of the decision, the specific worker data used, all outputs, the rationale for the decision, the relative roles of ADS output and human judgment, how the system logic applied to the worker, key parameters, the range of possible outputs and aggregate statistics for comparison, the system vendor and product name, and any completed impact assessments. Vendors and contractors must fully assist the employer in fulfilling access requests.
Statutory Text
Subdivision 1. Notice. (a) An employer that has used an automated decision system to make an employment-related decision must provide the affected worker with a written notice: (1) at the time the employer informs the worker of the decision, or no later than 15 business days from the date of the decision, whichever is earlier; or (2) if the decision results in the discipline or termination of the worker, at least 30 days before the discipline or termination takes effect. (b) The employer must provide a notice under paragraph (a) that is: (1) written in plain language as a separate and standalone communication; (2) in the language in which routine communications and other information are provided to workers; and (3) provided using a simple and easy-to-use method, including an email, hyperlink, or other written format. (c) A notice under paragraph (a) must contain the following information: (1) an acknowledgment that the employer used an automated decision system to make one or more employment-related decisions with respect to the worker; (2) a description of the worker's rights under sections 181.9922 to 181.9927; (3) a form or a hyperlink to an electronic form for the worker to file an appeal or request detailed information about the data and automated decision system used in the decision; and (4) that the employer is prohibited from retaliating against the worker for exercising the worker's rights under this section. (d) If an employer uses the same automated decision system in the same way multiple times a quarter, an employer must provide each affected employee: (1) the full notice required by this section for the first use of the automated decision system each quarter; and (2) a second notice at the end of the quarter that provides: (i) the number of times the employer or operator used the automated decision system that quarter; (ii) the dates the employer or operator used the automated decision system that quarter; and (iii) a description of the worker's rights under sections 181.9922 to 181.9927, including the right to access information about each decision. Subd. 2. Right to access. (a) When responding to a worker's access request, an employer must provide the following information to the worker: (1) a plain-language explanation of the specific decision for which the employer used the automated decision system; (2) in a simple and easy-to-use format, the specific worker data that the automated decision system used and all specific worker outputs produced by the automated decision system; (3) how the employer used the automated decision system output with respect to the worker, including: (i) the rationale for the decision, including the specific roles the output and human involvement played in the business's decision; (ii) any additional corroborating information or judgments the employer used in addition to the automated decision system output in making the decision; (iii) how the logic of the automated decision system, including its assumptions and limitations, was applied to the worker; (iv) the key parameters or performance metrics that affected the output of the automated decision system with respect to the worker and how those parameters applied to the worker; and (v) the range of possible outputs and aggregate output statistics, to help a worker understand how they compare to other workers; (4) the name of the entity that created the automated decision system and the product name of the automated decision system; and (5) a copy of any completed impact assessments of the automated decision system. (b) An employer must respond to an access request no later than 14 calendar days from the date the employer received the request. (c) A service provider, contractor, or vendor must provide full assistance to the employer in responding to a worker request for access, including any of that worker's input or output data in the service provider, contractor, or vender's possession and any relevant information about the automated decision system.
H-01 Human Oversight of Automated Decisions · H-01.4H-01.5 · Deployer · EmploymentAutomated Decisionmaking
§ 181.9926(a)-(f)
Plain Language
Every worker subject to an ADS-informed employment decision must receive an appeal form or link. The form must allow the worker to request access to ADS input/output data and human reviewer evidence, state their reason for appeal with supporting evidence, and designate an authorized representative. Workers have 30 days from post-decision notice to submit the appeal. The employer must respond within 5 business days by assigning a human reviewer who was not involved in the original decision, has authority to overturn it, is trained on ADS limitations and worker rights, and must objectively evaluate all evidence. The reviewer must produce a written decision with reasoning provided to both the worker and employer. If the decision is overturned, the employer must rectify it within 5 business days. This creates a fully structured internal appeal process with independence requirements, written determinations, and mandatory remediation.
Statutory Text
(a) An employer that uses an automated decision system to make an employment-related decision must provide the affected worker with a form or a hyperlink to an electronic form to appeal the decision. (b) The appeal form provided to an affected worker must include: (1) the option to request access to the data used as input to or as output from the automated decision system; (2) the option to request access to any corroborating or supporting evidence provided by a human reviewer to verify output from the automated decision system; (3) space for the worker's reason for an appeal and any evidence the worker has to support the appeal; and (4) information on how the worker can designate an authorized representative who can also access the data. (c) A worker appealing the employment-related decision must submit their appeal form within 30 days of receiving the notification under section 181.9925. (d) Within five business days of receiving an appeal form, an employer must respond to the worker submitting the form. To respond to an appeal, the employer must designate a human reviewer who: (1) must objectively evaluate all evidence; (2) has sufficient authority, discretion, and resources to evaluate the decision, including education about the limitations and biases of automated decision systems and training on workers' rights under sections 181.9922 to 181.9927; (3) has the authority to overturn the employer's decision; and (4) was not involved in making the decision the worker is appealing. (e) After reviewing the evidence, the human reviewer must produce a clear, written document describing the result of the appeal and the reasons for that result. This document must be provided to both the employer and the worker. (f) If the human reviewer determines that the employment-related decision should be overturned, the employer must rectify the decision within five business days of receiving the decision.
G-03 Whistleblower & Anti-Retaliation Protections · G-03.3 · Deployer · EmploymentAutomated Decisionmaking
§ 181.9927, Subd. 1
Plain Language
Employers are broadly prohibited from retaliating against any worker for exercising or attempting to exercise any rights under the act — including filing complaints with the Commissioner, alleging violations, cooperating in investigations, or invoking enforcement rights. Retaliation includes discharge, threats of discharge, demotion, suspension, and any form of discrimination. This is a blanket anti-retaliation provision covering the full scope of worker rights created by the statute.
Statutory Text
Subdivision 1. Retaliation. An employer must not discharge, threaten to discharge, demote, suspend, or in any manner discriminate or retaliate against any worker for using or attempting to use the worker's rights under this section and sections 181.9922 to 181.9926, including but not limited to filing a complaint with the commissioner of labor and industry, alleging a violation, cooperating in an investigation or prosecution of an alleged violation, taking any action to invoke or assist in enforcing these rights, or exercising or attempting to exercise any of these rights.