Regulon — NJ-AB-4981 · NJ AB 4981 (AI Employment Monitoring & Public Services)

WHAT THIS BILL REGULATES · 6 REQUIREMENT TYPES

How Is This Bill Enforced

Enforcement Authority

Dual enforcement. The Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development may assess administrative penalties for violations. Employees, applicants, and service beneficiaries adversely affected by a violation may institute a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction after exhausting the internal appeal procedure under section 8. Public employees and majority representatives may alternatively file an unfair practice charge with the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission. Criminal prosecution is available for knowing and willful violations. For civil actions, plaintiffs must first follow the section 8 internal review procedure before filing suit.

Private Right of Action

Penalties

Criminal penalties: first offense $1,000–$5,000 per employee harmed plus up to 100 days imprisonment; subsequent offenses $2,000–$10,000 per employee plus 10–150 days imprisonment, plus reinstatement, lost wages, and liquidated damages up to 200% of lost wages. Administrative penalties: up to $1,000 per employee per first violation; up to $5,000 per employee per subsequent violation; first-violation good-faith safe harbor available. Civil action remedies: injunctive relief, reinstatement with full benefits and seniority, lost wages with pre- and post-judgment interest plus liquidated damages up to 200%, reasonable costs and attorney's fees, civil fines up to $10,000 first violation and $20,000 subsequent per individual harmed, and punitive damages. Class action maintained on behalf of similarly situated individuals. Joint and several liability for vendors, employers, and deployers. Data breach: employer, public entity, and vendor jointly and severally liable for damages from fraud or theft caused by security failures.

Verbatim statutory text on the left; plain-language analysis and a per-section checklist on the right. Numbered markers cross-link to the matching checklist row.

Statutory Text

Analysis & Obligations

Section 1

Definitions

As used in this act: "Authorized representative" means a representative designated by an employer or an employee, including an attorney, and, in the case of an employee, any recognized bargaining representative or majority representative of the employee. "Automated benefit or service decision system" or "ABSDS" means any computational process, algorithm, or automated system, which utilizes information about a service beneficiary together with machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, artificial intelligence, or similar methods to produce outputs, including data, assumptions, predictions, scores, classifications, metrics, rankings, profiles, recommendations, inferences, conclusions, or other information, which are used make decisions regarding the provision to a service beneficiary of public benefits or services. An "automated benefit or service decision system" does not include a spam filter, firewall, antivirus, or other software not used to produce those outputs. "Automated employment decision system" or "AEDS" means any computational process, algorithm, or automated system, which utilizes information about an employee or applicant together with machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, artificial intelligence, or similar methods to produce outputs, including data, assumptions, predictions, scores, classifications, metrics, rankings, profiles, recommendations, inferences, conclusions, or other information, which are used by an employer to make employment-related decisions about an employee or applicant for employment. An "automated employment decision system" does not include a spam filter, firewall, antivirus, or other software not used to produce those outputs. "Automated services agreement" means any agreement under which a public entity buys, leases, or otherwise obtains the use from a vendor of an ABSDS, AEDS, or EMT subject to the provisions of this act, or of any new technology likely to result in a significant reduction of the amount of employment for public employees of the public entity. "Biometric information" means data or information generated by the processing, measurement, or analysis of an employee's or applicant's biological, physical, or behavioral characteristics for the purpose of uniquely identifying an individual, including fingerprints, voice prints; scans or records of eye retinas or iris images; gait; facial maps, geometries, or templates; facial recognition, voice analysis or emotion recognition technology; genetic information; or other unique biological, physical, or behavioral patterns or characteristics. "Biometric information" does not include photographs, audio or video recordings, or data or information generated from photographs, or audio or video recordings. "Commission" means the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission. "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development. "Department" means Department of Labor and Workforce Development. "Electronic monitoring tool", or "EMT", means any system, application, instrument, or device to collect, or facilitate the collection of, data or information about an employee or applicant for employment, by means other than direct observation by a natural person, including by monitoring computer, wire, phone, or other communications, obtaining biometric information, conducting video or audio surveillance, or utilizing geolocation, electromagnetic tracking, photoelectronic or photo-optical systems, or obtaining data or information from third parties, including data brokers, about employees or applicants for employment. "EMT" does not include a system, application, instrument, or device used exclusively to implement the administrative and physical data security practices required pursuant to subsection c. of section 5 of this act. "Employment-related decision" means a decision made, or action taken, by an employer or public employer that affects an employee's terms or conditions of employment, including whether an applicant is hired. For independent contractors or job applicants, this means the equivalent of these decisions based on an individual's contract with or relationship to the employer or public employer. "Essential work functions" means the fundamental duties of a position based upon work duties actually performed over the duration of employment, as revealed by objective evidence, including the amount of time workers spend performing each function, the terms of any applicable collective bargaining agreement, workers' past and present work experiences and performance in the position in question, and the employer's or public employer's reasonable, nondiscriminatory judgment as to which functions are essential. Past and current written job descriptions may be evidence as to which functions are essential, but shall not be the sole basis for this determination. "Independent auditor" means a person or entity that conducts an objective and impartial impact assessment of an AEDS or EMT. A person is not an independent auditor of an AEDS if they currently or at any point in the five years preceding the impact assessment: are or were involved in using, developing, offering, licensing, or deploying the AEDS being assessed; have or had an employment relationship with a developer or deployer of the AEDS being assessed, or have or had a financial interest in a developer or deployer that produces, uses, sells or offers for sale, uses or licenses the AEDS being assessed. "Information about an employee or applicant" or "employee or applicant information" means any data or information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked with, a particular employee or applicant, regardless of how the data or information is collected, inferred, or obtained, including, but not limited to: (1) biometric, health, or wellness data or information; (2) data or information related to workplace activities including human resources data and information such as qualitative and quantitative data and information regarding employee work performance; (3) workplace communications and interactions of the employee; and (4) audiovisual data and information. "Public benefits or services" means benefits or services provided by a public body or funded by a public entity or the federal government. "Public employee" means any employee of a public entity, whether employed on a full or part-time basis. As used in this act, the term "employees" includes "public employees," and all provisions of the act that apply to "employees" apply to "public employees," unless otherwise specified. "Majority representative" means the exclusive majority representative either certified by the commission or recognized by the public employer. "Public employer" means a public entity that employs public employees. "Public entity" means the State of New Jersey, or any of its counties, municipalities, or other political subdivision, or any school district, special district, or authority, including a bi-state authority, or any commission, board, branch, authority, or agency of a public entity. "Service beneficiary" means an individual applying for, or receiving, public benefits or services. "Terms and conditions of work" includes, but is not limited to, wages, benefits, or other compensation, work hours, work schedule, performance evaluation, hiring, firing, time off, discipline, promotion, demotion, work tasks and responsibilities, assignment of work, access to work, training, and educational opportunities, productivity requirements, and workplace health and safety. "Vendor" means any person or entity who develops or produces for sale or lease an AEDS, ABSDS or EMT to an employer. "Vendor" includes any agent, contractor, or subcontractor of the vendor.

Section 1 establishes the defined terms used throughout the bill. Key definitions include three categories of regulated technology — automated employment decision systems (AEDS), automated benefit or service decision systems (ABSDS), and electronic monitoring tools (EMT) — along with the parties who deploy them (employers, public entities, and vendors). The AEDS and ABSDS definitions are functionally broad, covering any computational process using ML, statistical modeling, or AI to produce outputs used in employment or public-benefit decisions. The EMT definition captures any non-human-observation surveillance method, including biometric, geolocation, and third-party data broker sources. The independent auditor definition imposes a strict five-year cooling-off period for conflicts of interest.

Section 2

Prohibited uses of AEDS, ABSDS, EMT, and surveillance

DeployerDeveloper

a 1 No employer or public entity, vendor, or contractor acting on behalf of the employer or public entity shall: Use, deploy, develop, produce, sell, or offer for sale an AEDS or ABSDS, or use data or information collected or produced by the AEDS or ABSDS, or use data or information obtained from an EMT or other surveillance of employees or service beneficiaries, that causes, contributes to, or results in, a violation of any provision of a recognized collective bargaining agreement or any State or federal labor or employment law, or that undermines, inhibits, threatens, punishes, or interferes with, employees, service beneficiaries, or applicants exercising their rights under this law, a collective bargaining agreement, or any of those laws, including using an AEDS or ABSDS, an EMT, or other surveillance of employees to identify, profile, predict, or result in a negative assessment of, employees or service beneficiaries who exercise, or will exercise, those rights;

b 1 Use, deploy, develop, produce, sell, or offer for sale an AEDS or ABSDS, or an EMT or other surveillance, in a manner which diminishes, undermines, or interferes with the health, safety, privacy, dignity, autonomy, or welfare of employees, applicants for employment, service beneficiaries, or members of the general public;

c 2 Conduct, or have conducted by a third party, electronic, audial, visual, or other monitoring or surveillance of employees in bathrooms or private areas, including, but not limited to, rooms for eating and other breaks, sick rooms, wellness rooms, locker rooms, dressing rooms, and areas designated for lactation, provided that the prohibitions of this subsection shall not apply to climate control, fire safety, or similar systems. Employees shall have the right, when in those rooms or areas, or on off-duty hours, to remove, disable, or decline to carry workplace surveillance devices the employer requires to be on their person or in their possession while working;

d 2 Conduct, or have conducted by a third party, an EMT or other surveillance of an employee when the employee is off duty, on leave, or on a meal or rest break, or during other time not designated for the performance of essential work functions;

e 2 Require an employee to install or download software or applications used to electronically monitor the employee, including by location, provided by, or on behalf of, the employer, into any personal device or personal property of the employee, including, but not limited to, vehicles, cell phones, computers, tablets, or wearables, or require the employee to wear or attach to clothing or accessories devices that monitor an employee, and the employee shall have the absolute right to refuse, without retaliation, any employer request or requirements to install or download the software or application. The applications and devices shall be disabled outside of the activities, locations and times needed for those functions, and removed when employment ends;

f 2 Require an employee to have a device that collects or transmits data physically implanted, or subcutaneously installed, in the employee's body, or require an employee to disclose to the employer the identity of, or any password for any personal device or account, including any social media account, of the employee, or otherwise provide access to the account or device;

g 2 Conduct, or have conducted by a third party, electronic, audiovisual or other monitoring, remote sensing or tracking, or other surveillance, of a residence, personal vehicle, or property owned or leased by an employee or applicant for employment;

h 3 Use, deploy, develop, produce, sell, or offer for sale, an EMT or other surveillance or an AEDS or ABSDS in a manner that harms or is likely to harm the health or safety of employees, by setting, or facilitating the setting of, productivity quotas or performance standards that are likely to contribute significantly to harming worker health and safety;

i 4 Take adverse employment action against an employee on the sole basis of data collected via continuous incremental time-tracking tools, including keystroke logging, idle-time trackers, or mouse-movement monitors;

j 5 Use, deploy, develop, produce, sell, or offer for sale, an EMT or other surveillance of an employee, service beneficiary, or applicant for employment, or use, deploy, develop, produce, sell, or offer for sale, an AEDS or ABSDS, to obtain, infer, analyze, or use in making a hiring decision or other employment-related decision or decision regarding public benefits or services, any data or information about the employee's, service beneficiary's, or applicant for employment's being in or perceived to be in a classification, or having or being perceived to have a characteristic, protected under section 11 of P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-12), or information about present or past union membership or advocacy or any other classification or characteristic, other than unlawful behavior, of the employee or applicant for employment which is not directly related to work performance or work qualifications, or of any other classification or characteristic of a service beneficiary which is not specifically required to confirm the identity of the beneficiary or determine eligibility for public benefits or services. An employer or public entity may not, in providing employee, applicant, or service beneficiary data or information for the AEDS or ABSDS or in directly making employment-related decisions or decisions about public benefits or services, use data or information about employee, applicant, or beneficiary classification or characteristics as identified in this subsection. It shall not be a violation of this subsection for an ABSDS to retain and use information essential to providing specific public services, such as student academic records in educational services and individual health information in health services, and information specifically required to determine eligibility for the public benefits or services;

k 6 Transfer or otherwise disclose biometric, health, or wellness data or information, however obtained, to any third party or government entity unless required to do so under State or federal law; use biometric, health, or wellness data or information in making an employment-related decision or decision regarding public benefits or services; or retain biometric, health, or wellness data or information of an applicant for employment who has not been hired or a former employee after employment ends, or after the service beneficiary no longer receives services or benefits; or

l 7 Make an employment-related decision which adversely affects an employee or applicant for employment, or an action which adversely affects a service beneficiary, in retaliation against the employee, applicant, or beneficiary for disclosing, or filing a complaint with a State agency, for a violation by the employer or public entity of any provision of this act, or taking an adverse action in retaliation against the employee, applicant or service beneficiary for exercising any rights provided by this act.

Section 2 enumerates a broad set of categorical prohibitions on how employers, public entities, and vendors may use AI-based systems and surveillance tools. The prohibitions fall into several clusters: protecting collective bargaining and labor rights from AI-enabled interference (subsection a); safeguarding employee health, safety, privacy, dignity, and autonomy (subsection b); banning surveillance in private spaces and off-duty time (subsections c–g); preventing harmful productivity quotas driven by AI (subsection h); prohibiting adverse actions based solely on continuous incremental monitoring data (subsection i); barring use of protected-class characteristics and union affiliation data in employment and public-benefit decisions (subsection j); restricting biometric and health data transfers and retention (subsection k); and prohibiting retaliation (subsection l).

The discrimination prohibition in subsection j is unusually comprehensive: it covers not only protected characteristics under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination but also union membership, and prohibits use of any classification not directly related to work performance, qualifications, or benefit eligibility.

Compliance actions 7 items

Employers, public entities, and vendors must not use an AEDS, ABSDS, EMT, or surveillance data in any manner that violates a collective bargaining agreement or labor law, interferes with employee exercise of legal rights, or diminishes the health, safety, privacy, dignity, autonomy, or welfare of employees, applicants, service beneficiaries, or the public.

S-02

Employers, public entities, and vendors must not conduct electronic monitoring or surveillance of employees in bathrooms, break rooms, wellness rooms, lactation areas, or other private spaces; must not surveil employees who are off duty, on leave, or on break; must not require employees to install monitoring software on personal devices or implant data-collection devices; must not require disclosure of personal device passwords or social media accounts; and must not surveil employee residences, personal vehicles, or personal property.

S-02

Employers, public entities, and vendors must not use AI systems or surveillance tools to set or facilitate productivity quotas or performance standards that are likely to contribute significantly to harming worker health and safety.

S-02

Employers must not take adverse employment action against an employee based solely on data collected via continuous incremental time-tracking tools such as keystroke logging, idle-time trackers, or mouse-movement monitors.

H-01.6

Employers, public entities, and vendors must not use AEDS, ABSDS, EMT, or surveillance to obtain, infer, analyze, or use protected-class characteristics, union membership, or any classification not directly related to work performance, qualifications, or benefit eligibility in employment or public-benefit decisions. A narrow carve-out permits ABSDS to retain information essential to specific public services (e.g., student records, health information) and eligibility determination.

H-02.1

Employers, public entities, and vendors must not transfer or disclose biometric, health, or wellness data to third parties or government entities except as required by law; must not use such data in employment or public-benefit decisions; and must delete such data for applicants not hired, former employees after employment ends, and former service beneficiaries after services end.

D-01.5

Employers and public entities must not retaliate against any employee, applicant, or service beneficiary for disclosing or filing a complaint about a violation of this act, or for exercising any rights provided by this act.

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Section 3

Pre-deployment conditions for AEDS and EMT use in employment

DeployerDeveloper

a 8 An employer or public entity, or vendor acting on behalf of an employer or public entity shall not implement the use of an AEDS or an EMT or other surveillance of employees, or use an AEDS or information obtained through the EMT when making employment-related decisions regarding employees or applicants for employment, unless all of the following conditions are met: The EMT or other surveillance, and the AEDS, are primarily intended and demonstrably verified through appropriate pretesting, validation, and relevant impact assessments conducted pursuant to this section to accomplish any of the following allowable purposes: (1) assisting an employee to accomplish essential work functions; (2) ensuring the quality of goods and services; (3) making periodic assessments of employee performance, including to assist in making employment-related decisions; (4) ensuring compliance with provisions of employment, labor, or other relevant laws; (5) protecting the health, safety, or security of employees and the public; or (6) administering wages and benefits.

b 9 The EMT and surveillance and the AEDS shall: (1) be limited to what is necessary to accomplish the allowable purposes specified in subsection a. of this section; (2) be used exclusively to accomplish those purposes; (3) use the means least invasive to employees or applicants for employment needed to accomplish those purposes; (4) be limited to the smallest number of employees and least amount of data and information needed to accomplish those purposes, and (5) have data and information collected no more frequently than is necessary to accomplish those purposes.

c 9 The data and information about an employee or applicant collected by an EMT or other surveillance or used by the AEDS shall be accessed only by authorized agents of the employer, the public entity, or the employee or the employee's authorized representative.

d 8 Prior to deployment or implementation, an objective and impartial impact assessment of the AEDS or EMT, including an assessment of the economic impacts of factors such as wages, hours, benefits, work opportunities, and advancement, has been conducted by an independent auditor, or, if the AEDS or EMT is to be applied to public employees, by the department, in which the auditor or the department determines and affirms in a report, with supporting documentation indicating: (1) that the EMT requires the implementation of procedures to ensure that it is used in a manner that complies with the requirements of subsections c., d., e., f., and g. of section 2 of this act; (2) that the AEDS or EMT complies with the requirements of subsections a., b., h. i., k. and l. of section 2 of this act and subsections a. and b. of this section, including the implementation of effective procedures to remedy potential risks to worker rights, including privacy, health and safety, dignity and autonomy, and to prevent inhibiting legally protected activity, including organizing and collective bargaining. (3) that the AEDS or EMT complies with the requirements of subsection j. of section 2 of this act, including that the auditor or the department, with respect to classifications and characteristics identified in that subsection of employees or applicants for employment, considers, identifies, and describes any disparities in the data used to train or develop the AEDS that may result in the outputs of the AEDS having a disparate, adverse impact on employees or applicants, and that the auditor or the department determines that the AEDS includes provisions to effectively remedy any such disparate, adverse impact; and (4) that the AEDS or EMT requires the implementation of effective procedures for monitoring, feedback, and ongoing human oversight, including full compliance with the requirements of section 9 of this act, as needed to prevent or remedy any potential discriminatory, biased, inaccurate, or harmful outcomes.

e 8 The vendor has provided the auditor or the department with access to all information needed to conduct the impact assessment of either an AEDS or an EMT, including, in the case of an AEDS: (1) all documentation about its design and development, its technical specifications, the sources of data used to develop and train it, the individuals involved in its development, and a historical record of past versions of the AEDS; (2) a detailed description of its intended purpose, deployment context, rationale for use, the categories, sources, and methods of data it utilizes; (3) outputs and the types of employment-related decisions in which those outputs may be used; (4) what the benefits and effects are of using the AEDS to supplement non-automated decision-making, and the impacts its use may have on overall efficiency and output for the public entity or employer that deploys it, including quantified estimates of: the amounts of cost savings for the employer or public entity; any anticipated reductions of employment by the employer or public entity; any offset to the employment reductions caused by new employment related to the human oversight requirements of section 9 of this act; and the percentage of the cost savings attributable to reductions of employment, and these estimates shall be featured prominently in the summary of the impact assessment submitted to the department pursuant to subsection g. of this section and section 4 of this act and included in the notices provided to employees or service beneficiaries pursuant to section 6 of this act; and (5) an analysis of the accuracy, reliability, validity, and error rates of the AEDS, including the reasonably foreseeable effects of tuning, retraining, or modification.

f 8 The impact assessment shall be conducted not more than one year prior to deployment. For an AEDS or EMT already in use on the effective date of this act, the impact assessment shall be completed within six months after the effective date. Impact assessments shall be updated upon any substantial change in the categories, sources, quotas, metrics, thresholds, or benchmarks used by the EMT or the AEDS, or any substantial modification, retraining, repurposing, or updating which may change outputs of an AEDS. Any subsequent impact assessment or update conducted pursuant to this subsection shall be subject, in the same manner as an initial impact assessment, to all of the requirements of subsections d., e., g., and h. of this section. Until those requirements are met, the AEDS or EMT shall not be permitted to operate.

g 10 The report of the impact assessment shall include all of the information and data used in making its determinations, including the full data and information provided pursuant to subsections d. and e. of this section, and shall, within 60 days of its completion, submitted in its entirety, together with an accessible summary of the report, to the department, for inclusion in a public registry of impact assessments maintained by the department, and to the vendor, who shall provide the report to any employer or public entity seeking to implement the AEDS or EMT. Impact assessments in the public registry shall be made available to affected employees, applicants for employment and their authorized representatives. Proprietary information shall not be publicly disclosed unless essential, and then only in aggregated form.

h In the case of an impact assessment conducted by the department because the AEDS or EMT is to be applied to public employees, the vendor shall pay the department the full amount of direct costs of making the impact assessment of the AEDS or EMT.

i 11 The employer or public entity shall provide the employees and their recognized bargaining representative notification in the manner required pursuant to subsections a. and b. of section 6 of this act, and the right to have the employer or public entity respond to concerns raised by the recognized representative of the employees in the manner provided by subsection c. of section 6 of this act.

Section 3 establishes a deployment-gating regime for automated employment decision systems and electronic monitoring tools. An employer or vendor may not implement an AEDS or EMT unless the system is verified through an independent impact assessment to serve only enumerated allowable purposes, is limited to the least invasive means necessary, and complies with the substantive prohibitions in Section 2. The impact assessment must be conducted by an independent auditor — or by the Department of Labor if the system is for public employees — and the auditor must affirm compliance with anti-discrimination, proportionality, and human-oversight requirements.

The vendor must provide the auditor full access to design documentation, training data sources, accuracy analyses, and economic-impact estimates including projected job losses. Assessments must be filed with the Department within 60 days of completion for inclusion in a public registry. Legacy systems already in use must complete the assessment within six months of the effective date. Any substantial modification triggers a fresh assessment, and the system must cease operating until the updated assessment is complete.

Compliance actions 4 items

Employers, public entities, and vendors must not deploy an AEDS or EMT until an independent auditor (or, for public employees, the Department of Labor) has conducted an impact assessment confirming the system serves only enumerated allowable purposes, uses the least invasive means, complies with anti-discrimination requirements (including disparate-impact analysis of training data), and implements effective human-oversight procedures. Vendors must provide the auditor full access to design documentation, training data sources, accuracy analyses, and economic-impact estimates. Assessments must be completed within one year before deployment, updated upon any substantial change, and the system may not operate until a compliant assessment is in place. Legacy systems must be assessed within six months of the effective date.

H-02.3

Employers and public entities must limit AEDS and EMT data collection and use to what is necessary for allowable purposes, use the least invasive means, collect data no more frequently than necessary, restrict access to authorized agents, and ensure that collected data is accessed only by authorized agents of the employer, the public entity, or the employee or their authorized representative.

D-01.4

The impact assessment report, including all underlying data, must be submitted in its entirety with an accessible summary to the Department of Labor within 60 days of completion for inclusion in a public registry. The vendor must provide the report to any employer or public entity seeking to implement the AEDS or EMT. Registry entries must be made available to affected employees, applicants, and their authorized representatives; proprietary information may only be publicly disclosed in aggregated form.

H-02.5

Employers and public entities must provide employees and their recognized bargaining representative with written notice as required by section 6, and must respond to concerns raised by the employee representative regarding AEDS, ABSDS, or EMT compliance, before implementing any such system.

H-01.3

Section 4

Pre-deployment conditions for ABSDS use in public benefits/services

DeployerDeveloperGovernment

a 12 A public entity, or vendor acting on behalf of a public entity, shall not implement the use an ABSDS, or use the ABSDS when making decisions regarding provision of public benefits or services to service beneficiaries, unless all of the following conditions are met: An objective and impartial impact assessment of the ABSDS, including an assessment of its economic impacts of factors such as wages, hours, benefits, work opportunities, and advancement, has been conducted by the department, in which the department determines and affirms in a report, with supporting documentation indicating: (1) that the ABSDS complies with the requirements of subsections a., b., k. and l. of section 2 of this act, including by requiring the implementation of effective procedures to remedy potential risks to the rights of service beneficiaries, including privacy, health and safety, dignity and autonomy, and to prevent inhibiting legally protected activity; (2) that the ABSDS complies with the requirements of subsection j. of section 2 of this act, including that the department, with respect to classifications and characteristics identified in that subsection of service beneficiaries, considers, identifies, and describes any disparities in the data used to train or develop the ABSDS that may result in the outputs of the ABSDS having a disparate, adverse impact on service beneficiaries, and that the department determines that the ABSDS includes provisions to effectively remedy any such disparate, adverse impact; and (3) that the ABSDS requires the implementation of effective procedures for monitoring, feedback, and ongoing human oversight, including full compliance with the requirements of section 9 of this act, as needed to prevent or remedy any potential discriminatory, biased, inaccurate, or harmful outcomes, including incorrect denials of public benefits or services based on mistaken claims of fraud by beneficiaries.

b 12 The vendor has provided the department with access to all information needed to conduct the impact assessment of an ABSDS, including: (1) all documentation about its design and development, its technical specifications, the sources of data used to develop and train it, the individuals involved in its development, and a historical record of past versions of the ABSDS; (2) a detailed description of its intended purpose, deployment context, rationale for use, the categories, sources, and methods of data it utilizes; (3) outputs and the types of employment-related decisions in which such outputs may be used; (4) what the benefits and effects are of using the ABSDS to supplement non-automated decision-making, and the impacts its use may have on overall efficiency and output for the public entity that deploys it, including quantified estimates of: the amounts of savings for the public entity; any anticipated reductions of employment by the employer or public entity; any offset to the employment reductions caused by new employment related to the human oversight requirements of section 9 of this act; and the percentage of cost savings attributable to reductions of employment, and these estimates shall be featured prominently in the summary of the impact assessment submitted to the department pursuant to subsection e. of this section and section 4 of this act and included in the notices submitted to employees or service beneficiaries pursuant to section 6 of this act; and (5) an analysis of the accuracy, reliability, validity, and error rates of the ABSDS, including the reasonably foreseeable effects of tuning, retraining, or modification.

c 12 The data and information used by the ABSDS shall be accessed only by authorized agents of the public entity or service beneficiary.

d 12 The impact assessment shall be conducted not more than one year prior to deployment. For an ABSDS already in use on the effective date of this act, the impact assessment shall be completed within one year after the effective date. Impact assessments shall be updated upon any substantial change in the categories, sources, quotas, metrics, thresholds, or benchmarks used by the ABSDS, or any substantial modification, retraining, repurposing, or updating which may change outputs of an ABSDS. Any subsequent impact assessment or update conducted pursuant to this subsection shall be subject, in the same manner as an initial impact assessment, to all of the requirements of subsections a. b., and e. of this section. Until those requirements are met, the ABSDS shall not be permitted to operate.

e 13 The report of the impact assessment shall include all of the information and data used in making its determinations, including the full data and information provided pursuant to subsections a. and b. of this section, and shall, within 60 days of its completion, be submitted in its entirety, together with an accessible summary of the report, to the department, for inclusion in a public registry of impact assessments maintained by the department, and to the vendor, who shall provide it to any public entity seeking to implement the ABSDS. Impact assessments in the public registry shall be made available to affected service recipients, entities, applicants for employment and their authorized representatives.

f The vendor shall pay the department the full amount of the direct costs of making the impact assessment of the ABSDS.

Section 4 mirrors Section 3's deployment-gating regime but applies specifically to automated benefit or service decision systems (ABSDS) used by public entities to make decisions about public benefits or services. Unlike Section 3, where an independent auditor may conduct the assessment, Section 4 requires the Department of Labor to conduct the impact assessment directly. The assessment must confirm compliance with anti-discrimination requirements, verify that effective human-oversight procedures are in place (including preventing incorrect benefit denials based on mistaken fraud claims), and analyze training-data disparities.

The vendor must pay the Department's full direct costs for the assessment. Legacy ABSDS systems receive a longer compliance window — one year after the effective date — compared to six months for AEDS/EMT systems. As with Section 3, the system may not operate until a compliant assessment is complete.

Compliance actions 2 items

Public entities and vendors must not deploy an ABSDS until the Department of Labor has conducted an impact assessment confirming compliance with anti-discrimination, proportionality, and human-oversight requirements, including effective procedures to prevent incorrect benefit denials based on mistaken fraud claims. Vendors must provide full documentation including design, training data, accuracy analysis, and economic-impact estimates. Assessments must be completed within one year before deployment, updated upon substantial changes, and the system may not operate until the assessment is complete. Legacy ABSDS systems must be assessed within one year of the effective date.

H-02.3

The ABSDS impact assessment report, with all underlying data and an accessible summary, must be submitted to the Department of Labor within 60 days of completion for inclusion in a public registry. The vendor must provide the report to any public entity seeking to deploy the ABSDS. Registry entries must be available to affected service recipients, entities, applicants, and their authorized representatives.

H-02.5

Section 5

Data governance: consent, accuracy, retention, and security

DeployerDeveloper

a(1) 14 An employer, public entity, vendor, or contractor shall ensure that no data or information about an employee or applicant, or service beneficiary, or applicant for employment collected by an EMT or other surveillance, and no output of an AEDS, or data or information used to produce that output, is sold, licensed, transferred, disclosed, or shared to or with any third party by the employer, public entity, or vendor, without the uncoerced written consent of the employee, service beneficiary, or applicant for employment, except that the data or information may be provided to the applicant, service beneficiary, employee, or an authorized representative, or to a law enforcement authority or a court when required by law. All information about an applicant for employment or public benefits or services, including any applicant video, shall be destroyed at the request of the applicant. A vendor shall return to the employer or public entity and delete all employee, applicant, and service beneficiary information once the contract between the vendor and the employer or public entity is terminated.

a(2) 15 An employer, public entity, or vendor acting on behalf of an employer shall ensure that all information and data and information about an employee or service beneficiary, held by the employer, public entity, or vendor is accurate and up to date. An employer or public entity shall notify an employee or service beneficiary of any significant change in the data or information held by the employer or public entity or vendor. The notification shall inform the employee or service beneficiary of the change and the right of the employee, service beneficiary, or a designated representative, to access to any data or information about the employee or service beneficiary held by the employer, public entity, or vendor and make a written request to correct inaccurate information or remove information being retained or used in a manner that violates the provisions of this act, and, in addition, the employee or service beneficiary, even if not notified of any change, shall, at least one time per year, have the right to have access to the data and information and seek any needed corrections or removals. If the employer or public entity does not change or remove the information as requested, the employer or public entity shall provide a written explanation of the reason for that decision, and retain copies of the request and the written explanation, to be available for consideration in any appeal of an adverse decision made pursuant to section 8 of this act.

b 16 An employer or public entity shall make, keep, and preserve, for not less than three years, true and accurate records, including complete records of data and information about an about an employee or applicant, or service beneficiary, or applicant for employment collected by an EMT or other surveillance and all data and information used by an AEDS for outputs concerning the employee, service beneficiary, or applicant, and all performance evaluations, validation results and impact assessments. Any data or information for which an applicant has exercised their right to have destroyed pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall be exempt from the record retention requirements of this subsection once the records are destroyed. The employer or public entity shall destroy the data and information no later than 37 months after collection unless the employee, service beneficiary, or applicant has provided uncoerced written consent for the employer or public entity to retain them.

c 17 An employer or public entity shall establish, implement, and maintain reasonable administrative and physical data security practices to protect the confidentiality, integrity and accessibility of employee, service beneficiary, or applicant data and information, which shall be in compliance with any recordkeeping, data retention, and security requirements specified by the commissioner. The employer or public entity, and any vendor keeping employee, service beneficiary, or applicant data, shall promptly provide the department and each affected employee or service beneficiary, a written notice of any security breach, within 48 hours of the breach, describing the specific categories of data that were, or are reasonably believed to have been, accessed or acquired by an unauthorized person, and the steps the employer or public entity and vendor will take to address the impact of the data breach on affected individuals. The employer or public entity and the vendor shall be jointly and severally liable for any damages caused to the employee, service beneficiary, or applicant for employment by fraud or theft made possible by a failure of the employer or public entity or vendor to secure personal data and information of the employee, service beneficiary, or applicant held by the employer or public entity.

Section 5 imposes a comprehensive data governance regime on employers, public entities, and vendors. Data about employees, applicants, and service beneficiaries may not be sold, transferred, or shared with third parties without uncoerced written consent. Applicant data must be destroyed upon request. Vendors must return and delete all data when contracts terminate. Employers must keep data accurate and up-to-date, notify individuals of significant changes, and provide at least annual access with correction rights.

Records must be maintained for at least three years and destroyed no later than 37 months after collection absent consent. Employers must implement reasonable data security practices, and both employers and vendors are jointly and severally liable for damages from security breaches. Breach notification must be provided to the Department and affected individuals within 48 hours.

Compliance actions 4 items

Employers, public entities, and vendors must not sell, license, transfer, disclose, or share employee, applicant, or service beneficiary data or AEDS outputs with any third party without uncoerced written consent, except to the individual, their authorized representative, or law enforcement when required by law. Applicant data must be destroyed upon the applicant's request. Vendors must return and delete all data when the contract terminates.

D-01.4

Employers, public entities, and vendors must ensure all employee and service beneficiary data is accurate and up to date, notify individuals of significant data changes, provide access to all held data, and allow written correction or removal requests at least annually. If a correction request is denied, the employer must provide a written explanation and retain the request and explanation for appeal purposes.

D-01.1

Employers and public entities must maintain true and accurate records of all EMT-collected data, AEDS inputs and outputs, performance evaluations, validation results, and impact assessments for not less than three years. Data must be destroyed no later than 37 months after collection unless the individual provides uncoerced written consent for continued retention.

G-01.3

Employers and public entities must establish, implement, and maintain reasonable data security practices for employee, service beneficiary, and applicant data. In the event of a security breach, the employer/public entity and vendor must provide written notice to the Department and each affected individual within 48 hours, describing the categories of data compromised and remediation steps. Employers, public entities, and vendors are jointly and severally liable for damages from security failures.

R-01.1

Section 6

Pre-implementation notice to employees, service beneficiaries, and unions

Deployer

a 18 An employer or public entity shall not implement an EMT or other surveillance or the use of an AEDS or ABSDS unless the employer or public entity has provided a written notice to all affected service beneficiaries and employees, including public employees making decisions about public benefits or services for service beneficiaries, and to any recognized bargaining representative of the employees, at least 60 days prior to implementation. If the EMT, AEDS, or SBSDS was in operation on the effective date of this act, the written notice shall be provided not more than 60 days after the effective date of this act. For an employee hired after the effective date of this act, written notice shall be provided not more than 30 days after the hiring, and the employer shall obtain a written acknowledgement of receipt of the notice by the employee. The notice shall include, except that the notice to service beneficiaries shall not include the disclosures indicated in paragraphs (5) and (6) of this subsection, the following disclosures: (1) that the use of an AEDS, ABSDS, or EMT or surveillance is being implemented, and what type of decisions that will be affected by the AEDS, ABSDS or the EMT or surveillance; (2) copies of the summaries of the impact assessment reports of the AEDS, ABSDS, or EMT conducted by an independent auditor or the department conducted pursuant to subsection d. of section 3, or subsection a. of section 4, of the act, and directions on how to obtain the entire impact assessment report from the public registry maintained by the department; (3) a description of the data and information that will be collected and the outputs that will be used, specifying, in the case of an employee or public employee, for which of the allowable purposes identified in subsection a. of section 3 of this act they will be used; (4) the rights provided by this section and section 8 of this act to employees and service beneficiaries, and their authorized representatives, to have access to all relevant data and information and to contest any disclosure of the notice; (5) a description of any performance standard, productivity quota, or other related measure used in evaluating employees, including public employees making decisions about public benefits or services for service beneficiaries, a description of what data and information is collected, and a description of any adverse consequences or positive incentives associated with the standards or quotas; and (6) the obligation stipulated in subsection c. of this section that an employer or public entity, upon a request of the recognized bargaining representative of the employees, to respond, in the manner specified by that subsection, to concerns raised the representative regarding the AEDS, ABSDS, EMT, or surveillance.

b 18 Employers or public entities shall give employees, and any recognized bargaining representative of the employees, at least 60 days written notice before the implementation of any significant changes in the EMT, AEDS, or ABSDS or in the employer's or public entity's use of an EMT or surveillance or use of an AEDS or ABSDS.

c 19 If a recognized bargaining representative of the employees, within 30 days of receiving a notice pursuant to subsection a. or b. of this section, notifies the employer or public entity of specific concerns they have of an AEDS, ABSDS, EMT, or surveillance not being in compliance with the provisions of this act, other law, or applicable collective bargaining agreement, including whether the impact assessment was accurate in deeming the AEDS, ABSDS, EMT, or surveillance to be in compliance, the employer or public entity shall not implement the AEDS, ABSDS, EMT, or surveillance until the employer or public entity has provided the representative of the employees with a written response to the specific concerns which includes any modification of the AEDS, ABSDS, or EMT which the employer or public entity agrees is needed for compliance, or an explanation of why the employer or public entity believes no modification is necessary to be in compliance. If the employee representative is not satisfied with the response, the representative may seek relief in an administrative action pursuant to section 18 of this act, in a civil action pursuant to the provisions of section 19 of this act, or in a grievance or arbitration procedure outlined in an applicable collective bargaining agreement.

d 20 The employer or public entity shall not make any employment-related decision which has an adverse impact on an employee if the decision is based, in whole or in part, on a productivity quota or performance standard that was not previously disclosed to the employee pursuant to paragraph (5) of subsection a. of this section.

Section 6 requires employers and public entities to provide detailed written notice to all affected employees, service beneficiaries, and recognized bargaining representatives at least 60 days before implementing any AEDS, ABSDS, or EMT. For legacy systems in use on the effective date, notice must be provided within 60 days after the effective date; for newly hired employees, within 30 days of hire. The notice must include the type of system being deployed, impact assessment summaries with directions to the full public registry report, descriptions of data to be collected and outputs used, employee and beneficiary rights, and any productivity quotas or performance standards.

The section also creates a union challenge mechanism: if a bargaining representative raises compliance concerns within 30 days of receiving notice, the employer must respond in writing and may not proceed with implementation until concerns are addressed. If the representative is unsatisfied, they may pursue administrative, civil, or grievance remedies. Employers may not take adverse action based on undisclosed productivity quotas.

Compliance actions 3 items

Employers and public entities must provide written notice to all affected employees, service beneficiaries, and recognized bargaining representatives at least 60 days before implementing any AEDS, ABSDS, or EMT. Notice must include: the type of system and decisions affected; impact assessment summaries with registry directions; descriptions of data collected and outputs used; employee and beneficiary rights; productivity quotas or performance standards (employees only); and the employer's obligation to respond to union concerns. Notice must also be given at least 60 days before any significant changes. New hires must receive notice within 30 days with written acknowledgment.

H-01.3

If a recognized bargaining representative raises compliance concerns within 30 days of receiving notice, the employer or public entity must halt implementation and provide a written response addressing the concerns — including any agreed modifications or a compliance explanation — before proceeding. If the representative is not satisfied, they may pursue administrative, civil, or grievance remedies.

H-01.5

Employers and public entities must not take any adverse employment action based in whole or in part on a productivity quota or performance standard that was not previously disclosed to the affected employee.

H-01.3

Section 7

Notice accessibility requirements

Deployer

21 All notices required to be provided to employees or service beneficiaries pursuant to section 6 of this act, and all summaries of impact assessment reports required to be included with those notices, shall: a. Be written in clear, plain language easily understood by workers without technical expertise; b. Be translated into any language spoken by at least five percent of the employer's or public entity's workforce; c. Be provided in hard copy form and, if possible, in electronic form; d. Be posted conspicuously in the workplace and made continuously available to workers and their recognized bargaining representative; and e. Disclose that employers and entities are prohibited from retaliating against employees or applicants for employment for exercising their rights under this act.

Section 7 establishes format and accessibility requirements for all notices and impact assessment summaries provided under Section 6. Notices must be in plain language, translated into any language spoken by at least five percent of the workforce, provided in both hard copy and electronic form, posted conspicuously in the workplace, and include a statement that retaliation is prohibited.

Compliance actions 1 item

All notices to employees and service beneficiaries and impact assessment summaries must be written in clear plain language, translated into any language spoken by at least 5% of the workforce, provided in hard copy and electronic form, posted conspicuously in the workplace, and include a statement that retaliation is prohibited.

H-01.3

Section 8

Adverse decision notice, appeal rights, and human review

DeployerGovernment

a 22 In the case of an employer or public employer who, with respect to public employees, uses an EMT or other surveillance, or uses an AEDS, to make, or assist in making, an employment-related decision which adversely affects an employee, or in the case of a public entity which uses an ABSDS in making a decision to reduce public benefits or services to a service beneficiary, the employer or public entity shall, at least 10 days before the decision takes effect, provide the service beneficiary or employee and any recognized bargaining representative of the employee with a written notice, which: (1) describes and explains the reasons for the decision; (2) provides access to all relevant data and information about the decision, including a comprehensive explanation of how the EMT, ABSDS, or AEDS are being used in making the decision; and (3) explains that the employee, applicant for employment, service beneficiary, or an authorized representative shall have: the right to access all relevant data and information; the right to contest the decision through the procedures indicated in subsection b. of this section; and, if the employee, service beneficiary, or applicant is not satisfied with the outcome of that procedure, the right to seek relief in an administrative action pursuant to section 18 of this act, in a civil action pursuant to the provisions of section 19 of this act, or, if an employee is represented by a recognized bargaining representative, in a grievance or arbitration procedure outlined in an applicable collective bargaining agreement. In the case of an applicant for employment or public benefits or services, an employer or public entity that uses an AEDS or ABSDS to make, or assist in making, a decision to reject the application shall provide the written notice described in this subsection not later than the time that the decision is made.

b(1)-(3) 22 Upon a request from the employee, service beneficiary, applicant for employment or an authorized representative made not more than 30 days after the employer or public entity provides the written notice required by subsection a. of this section, or not more than 30 days after the adverse decision is implemented if the required notice is not given, the employer or public entity shall: (1) permit the employee, service beneficiary, applicant or authorized representative to review and copy any data and information collected or used to make the decision, and related personnel files; disclose complete data and information regarding the impact assessments of the EMT, the ABSDS, and the AEDS conducted pursuant to section 3 of this act and oversight of the EMT, the ABSDS, and the AEDS conducted pursuant to section 9 of this act, including whether the output of the AEDS or the ABSDS was modified in the oversight process, and if so, how; provide copies of the summaries of the impact assessment reports and disclose how to access the full assessment reports on the public registry maintained by the department; and provide a clear, complete explanation of how the AEDS or the ABSDS produced any outputs related to the decision, including information about the weighting of factors and the data, algorithms, and other processes involved in making the decision; (2) permit the employee, service beneficiary, or applicant for employment to make an appeal to: seek the correction of any inaccurate, incomplete or biased data or information; contest any adverse decision in which data or information was considered which was erroneous, incomplete or biased or which was collected, retained or used by the EMT, ABSDS, or AEDS in a manner which violates the provisions of this act; or contest any adverse decision in which the decision was otherwise made in a manner which violates the provisions of this act; and (3) designate a human reviewer who is an employee of the employer or public entity and who is required to objectively evaluate all evidence, has sufficient authority, discretion, resources, and time to evaluate the decision, has sufficient training and expertise to have a full understanding of the data, algorithms, and other processes involved in making the decision, and has the authority to modify or overturn the decision, including the correction of any inaccurate, incomplete or biased data or information. The reviewer shall consider the appeal made by the employee, service beneficiary, or applicant for employment regarding any of the matters indicated in paragraph (2) of this subsection and issue a determination which shall be the final outcome of the procedure of this subsection for an appeal made to the employer or public entity. An employee, service beneficiary, or applicant for employment who is not satisfied with this final outcome of the procedure may seek relief in an administrative action pursuant to section 18 of this act, in a civil action pursuant to the provisions of section 19 of this act, or, if the employee is represented by a recognized bargaining representative, in a grievance or arbitration procedure outlined in an applicable collective bargaining agreement.

Section 8 creates robust procedural protections for individuals adversely affected by AI-assisted decisions. When an employer or public entity uses an EMT, AEDS, or ABSDS to make or assist in making an adverse employment or public-benefit decision, it must provide written notice at least 10 days before the decision takes effect (or at the time of the decision for applicants). The notice must explain the decision, provide access to all relevant data, and inform the individual of their appeal rights.

Upon request within 30 days, the employer must allow the individual to review and copy all data, receive a complete explanation of how the AEDS or ABSDS produced its outputs including factor weighting, and contest the decision through a human reviewer who is an employee of the organization with sufficient authority and discretion to modify or overturn the decision. If the individual is unsatisfied with the internal review outcome, they may pursue administrative, civil, or grievance remedies.

Compliance actions 1 item

Employers and public entities must provide at least 10 days' advance written notice before any adverse AI-assisted employment or public-benefit decision takes effect, explaining the reasons, providing access to all data, and informing the individual of appeal rights. Upon request within 30 days, the employer must (1) allow the individual to review and copy all data and receive a complete explanation of how the AEDS or ABSDS produced its outputs including factor weighting, (2) allow the individual to appeal on grounds of data inaccuracy, bias, or legal violations, and (3) designate a qualified human reviewer with authority and discretion to modify or overturn the decision. For applicants, notice must be provided no later than the time of the decision.

H-01.1

Section 9

Human oversight requirements for AI-assisted decisions

DeployerGovernment

a 23 An employer or public entity shall not rely solely on data or information about employees or service beneficiaries collected through an EMT or other surveillance, or outputs of an AEDS or ABSDS, or information from third parties, including data brokers, when making employment-related decisions, or in the case of a public entity, when making employment-related decisions about its own employees, or making decisions about public benefits or services for service beneficiaries. Any data or information collected through an EMT or other surveillance, or used to produce, or be part of, outputs of an AEDS or ABSDS, shall be corroborated by internal reviewers designated by the employer or public entity pursuant to subsection b. of this section and shall be subject to review and challenge by the affected service beneficiary or employee or their authorized representative, as provided in paragraph (2) of subsection a. of section 5 of this act or subsection b. of section 8 of this act. No decision affecting the terms or conditions of employment or the provision of public benefits or services may be based exclusively or determinatively on AEDS or ABSDS outputs, or data and information collected by an EMT or other surveillance.

b 23 An employer or public entity shall establish meaningful human oversight of all employment-related decisions or decisions about public benefits or services made utilizing data or information collected by an EMT or other surveillance or AEDS or ABSDS outputs. The oversight shall include: (1) designation of internal reviewers who are employees of the employer or public entity, and have sufficient training and expertise in the operation of whichever is used of the EMT, the ABSDS, or the AEDS, familiarity with the most recent impact assessments of the EMT, the ABSDS, or AEDS, and sufficient understanding of their use to identify potential errors, biases, or inaccuracies produced by their use; (2) authority and discretion for the reviewers to dispute, revise, or reject AEDS or ABSDS outputs or data or information collected by an EMT or other surveillance suspected, or found, to be inaccurate, discriminatory, or otherwise invalid; (3) a requirement that a human decision-maker review the data and information collected by an EMT or other surveillance and the AEDS and ABSDS outputs, exercise independent judgment, and consider information beyond AEDS and ABSDS outputs and data and information collected by an EMT or other surveillance, including, in the case of an employee, supervisory evaluations, personnel files, employee work product, or peer reviews, when making consequential employment-related decisions; and (4) a requirement that the reviewers have adequate time and resources to conduct the reviews, and are available for direct communication, in person or by phone or video conference, to applicants for employment or public benefits or services, service beneficiaries affected by an adverse decision regarding public benefits or services, and employees affected by adverse employment-related decisions.

Section 9 establishes a categorical prohibition on relying solely on AI outputs for employment or public-benefit decisions and mandates a structured human oversight program. No decision affecting terms of employment or public benefits may be based exclusively or determinatively on AEDS, ABSDS, or EMT outputs. All data and outputs must be corroborated by designated internal reviewers and subject to individual challenge.

The required oversight program includes designation of trained internal reviewers who can identify errors and biases, authority for reviewers to dispute or reject AI outputs, a requirement that human decision-makers exercise independent judgment and consider information beyond AI outputs (including supervisory evaluations, personnel files, and peer reviews), and adequate time and resources for reviewers to communicate directly with affected individuals.

Compliance actions 1 item

Employers and public entities must not base any employment or public-benefit decision exclusively or determinatively on AEDS, ABSDS, or EMT outputs. They must establish meaningful human oversight including: (1) designated internal reviewers trained in the AI system's operation who can identify errors, biases, and inaccuracies; (2) reviewer authority to dispute, revise, or reject AI outputs; (3) a requirement that human decision-makers exercise independent judgment and consider non-AI information (supervisory evaluations, personnel files, peer reviews) for consequential decisions; and (4) adequate time, resources, and direct communication availability for reviewers.

H-01.6

Section 10

Employee right to refuse AI output

DeployerGovernment

24 No employer or public entity shall discharge, or otherwise retaliate against an employee with respect to any terms and conditions of work, because the employee refused to follow the output of an AEDS, ABSDS, or other artificial intelligence system, automated decision system, algorithm, or other similar technology, if the following conditions are met: a. the employee holds independent judgment and discretion in executing their work duties, or the work duties performed by the employee require licensure or certification by the State as a condition of employment, or independent accreditation by the employer or public entity; and b. (1) the employee has notified a supervisor, manager, or other agent of the employer or public entity that the employee has made, in good faith and with the knowledge or reasonable belief based upon professional opinion or educational or work related experience, a determination that the output from the AEDS, ABSDS, or other artificial intelligence system, automated decision system, algorithm, or other similar technology is likely to result in harm to an employee, service beneficiary, or other individual, damage to physical property, an illegal action, or an action contrary to the licensure or certification requirements of the federal government, the State, or other applicable private licensing or certifying authority which may result in a revocation or suspension of the employee's licensure or certification, but the employer or public entity, refused or otherwise failed to adjust the output without providing a reasonable written explanation documenting its reasons for not making an adjustment; or (2) the employee has refused to follow the output in good faith and with the knowledge or reasonable belief, based upon professional opinion or educational or work-related experience that the output would cause harm or have an adverse impact, and due to the urgency of the potential harm or adverse impact, there is not enough time for the output to be corrected through action of the employer or public entity.

Section 10 creates a novel employee protection: employers may not retaliate against an employee who refuses to follow the output of any AI or automated decision system, provided the employee (a) exercises independent professional judgment or holds a state license/certification required for the position, and (b) has either notified a supervisor of a good-faith belief that the output is likely to cause harm and the employer failed to adjust, or acted without notice due to urgency. This provision is unusual in U.S. AI legislation and effectively creates a professional-conscience exception for AI-driven directives.

Compliance actions 1 item

Employers and public entities must not discharge or retaliate against an employee who refuses to follow an AI system's output when the employee exercises independent professional judgment or holds a required license/certification, and has either (1) notified a supervisor in good faith that the output is likely to cause harm, illegality, or licensing jeopardy and the employer failed to adjust, or (2) refused due to urgency when there was insufficient time for employer correction.

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Section 11

Mandatory subjects of collective bargaining

Government

25 All aspects, actions, or consequences relating to, or resulting from, a public employer's decision to enter into an automated services agreement to use an EMT, AEDS, ABSDS, or any new technology likely to result in a significant reduction of employment, shall be mandatory subjects of negotiations.

Section 11 declares that all aspects, actions, and consequences of a public employer's decision to enter an automated services agreement — covering EMT, AEDS, ABSDS, or any new technology likely to result in significant employment reduction — are mandatory subjects of collective bargaining negotiations. This is a labor-relations structural provision that integrates AI deployment into the existing public-sector bargaining framework.

Compliance actions 1 item

Public employers must treat all aspects of a decision to enter an automated services agreement (for AEDS, ABSDS, EMT, or job-reducing technology) as mandatory subjects of collective bargaining negotiations.

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Section 12

Restrictions on automated services agreements during CBA terms

Government

26 No public employer shall enter into an automated services agreement during the term that an existing collective bargaining agreement with the majority representative is in effect. No public employer shall enter into an agreement after the end of the term of the current collective bargaining agreement unless the public employer: a. Provides advance written notice to the majority representative of public employees in each collective bargaining unit which may be affected by the automated services agreement, and to the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission, not less than 30 days before the expiration of the existing collective bargaining agreement and not less than 90 days before the date that the public employer seeks to enter into the automated services agreement; and b. Offers, in the advance written notice, the majority representative of the public employees in each collective bargaining unit which may be affected by the automated services agreement an opportunity to meet and consult with the public employer to discuss the decision to enter into an automated services agreement, and, upon a request of the majority representative, enters into good-faith negotiations over the impacts of the automated services agreement.

Section 12 prohibits public employers from entering an automated services agreement during the term of an existing collective bargaining agreement. After the agreement expires, the employer must provide at least 30 days' advance written notice before CBA expiration and at least 90 days before the proposed implementation date, and must offer the majority representative an opportunity to meet, consult, and negotiate in good faith over the impacts.

Compliance actions 1 item

Public employers must not enter an automated services agreement during the term of an existing collective bargaining agreement. After expiration, the employer must provide at least 30 days' pre-expiration and 90 days' pre-implementation written notice to affected majority representatives and PERC, and must offer to meet, consult, and negotiate in good faith over the impacts.

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Section 13

Displaced public employee protections

Government

27 Each public employee replaced or displaced as the result of an automated services agreement shall: a. receive severance pay and health benefit coverage of not less than one year for any displaced public employee, and not less than two years for an employee with five or more years of service; b. retain all previously acquired seniority during that period; c. have recall rights should new employment become available; and d. have the right to receive from the public employer all training needed to fulfill oversight roles required under section 9 of this act and human roles in dealing with problems individuals have with AI decisions on public benefits or services and be given priority for any new employment associated with those roles.

Section 13 provides specific protections for public employees displaced by automated services agreements. Displaced employees are entitled to severance pay and health benefits for at least one year (two years for employees with five or more years of service), retention of seniority, recall rights, and the right to receive training for human-oversight roles and priority for new employment in those roles.

Compliance actions 1 item

Public employers must provide each public employee displaced by an automated services agreement with: (1) severance pay and health benefits for at least one year (two years for employees with 5+ years of service), (2) retention of acquired seniority, (3) recall rights, and (4) training for AI oversight roles and priority for new employment in those roles.

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Section 14

Unfair practice charges for public employer violations

A public employer who violates any provision of this act, including a failure to negotiate in good faith as required in section 6 of this act, shall be deemed to have committed an unfair practice, and any public employee or majority representative organization affected by the violation may, as an alternative to any other remedy provided by this act for the violation, file an unfair practice charge with the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission. If the employee or organization prevails on the charge, the employee is entitled to a remedy including, but not limited to, reinstatement, back pay, back benefits, back emoluments, tenure and seniority credit, attorney's fees, and any other relief the commission deems appropriate to effectuate the purposes of this act.

Section 14 provides that any violation of the act by a public employer — including failure to negotiate in good faith — constitutes an unfair practice under public employment relations law. Affected public employees or majority representatives may file an unfair practice charge with the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission as an alternative remedy. Available relief includes reinstatement, back pay, back benefits, tenure and seniority credit, attorney's fees, and any other appropriate relief.

Section 15

Savings clause — existing employee rights preserved

Nothing in this act shall be construed as restricting or limiting any right established or provided for employees by section 7 of P.L.1968, c.303 (C.34:13A-5.3). The purpose of this act is to provide rights in addition to those provided by section 7 of P.L.1968, c.303 (C.34:13A-5.3).

Section 15 is a savings clause clarifying that nothing in the act restricts or limits existing rights provided to employees under the New Jersey Employer-Employee Relations Act. The purpose of the act is to provide additional rights.

Section 16

Minimum standards; collective bargaining non-preemption

The requirements of this act establish minimum substantive protections governing the use of automated and surveillance technologies and shall apply to all employees. The implementation or material modification of an AEDS, ABSDS, or EMT or any substantially similar technology that affects employee terms and condition of work shall be deemed a material change in working conditions. No provision of this act, or any regulations adopted to implement or enforce this act, shall be construed as: a. requiring an employer or public employer to reduce, or justifying an employer or public employer in reducing, protections or rights provided to an employee pursuant to an existing employer policy or collective bargaining agreement which are more favorable to an employee that those required by this act; b. preventing the employer or public employer from agreeing, through a new employer policy or collective bargaining agreement, to provide protections or rights which are more favorable to an employee than those required by this act; c. limiting an employee's right to seek or obtain greater protections or rights under a collective bargaining agreement than the protections or rights provided by this act; or d. superseding any law providing collective bargaining rights for employees, or in any way reducing or diminishing the obligations of employers under those laws.

Section 16 establishes that the bill's requirements are minimum substantive protections and declares that implementation or material modification of an AEDS, ABSDS, or EMT constitutes a material change in working conditions. The section contains four non-preemption clauses ensuring that the act does not reduce protections under existing employer policies or CBAs, does not prevent employers from agreeing to greater protections, does not limit employees' collective bargaining rights, and does not supersede collective bargaining laws.

Section 17

Anti-waiver provision

No employer or public entity shall request or require an employee or applicant for employment, or service beneficiary, to accept any condition of employment or condition of receiving public benefits or services, which is contrary to the provisions of this act. Any waiver of the rights provided in this act shall be null and void.

Section 17 prohibits employers and public entities from requiring employees, applicants, or service beneficiaries to accept any condition contrary to the act and declares any waiver of rights under the act null and void.

Section 18

Criminal penalties and administrative enforcement

a An employer who knowingly and willfully violates any provision of this act, or who discharges, or otherwise retaliates against an employee with respect to any terms and conditions of work, because the employee has informed other employees of the employer about their rights under this act, or has, with respect to any violation of the provisions of this act by the employer, made a complaint to the employer, the commissioner, or authorized representative of the employee, or has instituted, or testified or given information in, a proceeding concerning the violation, shall be guilty of a disorderly persons offense and, upon conviction for a first violation, shall be punished by a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000 for each employee harmed by the violation or by imprisonment of not more than 100 days, or by both the fine and imprisonment, and for second or subsequent violation, a fine of not less than $2,000 nor more than $10,000 for each employee harmed by the violation or by imprisonment of not less than 10 days and not more than 150 days, or by both the fine and imprisonment. In the case of a discharge or other discriminatory action against the employee in violation of this act, the employer shall also be required to offer reinstatement in employment to the employee, correct the discriminatory action, and pay to the employee any wages lost, or other losses, due to the discharge or the action, plus liquidated damages of up to 200 percent of the lost wages or other losses.

b As an alternative to or in addition to any other sanctions provided by law for violations of this act, when the commissioner finds that an employer or public entity has violated this act, including by taking a retaliatory action against the employee or service beneficiary in violation of section 2 or section 10 of this act or subsection a. of this section, the commissioner is authorized to assess and collect administrative penalties, up to a maximum of $1,000 for a first violation for each employee harmed by the violation and, for each subsequent violation, up to a maximum of $5,000 for each employee harmed by the violation, specified in a schedule of penalties to be promulgated as a rule or regulation by the commissioner in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.). When determining the amount of the penalty imposed because of a violation, the commissioner shall consider factors which include the history of previous violations, the seriousness of the violation, and the good faith of the employer or public entity. No administrative penalty shall be levied pursuant to this section unless the commissioner provides the alleged violator with notification of the violation and the amount of the penalty and an opportunity to request a hearing before the commissioner or his designee within 15 days following the receipt of the notice. If a hearing is requested, the commissioner shall issue a final order upon making a finding that a violation has occurred. If no hearing is requested, the notice shall become a final order upon expiration of the 15-day period. Payment of the penalty is due when a final order is issued or when the notice becomes a final order. Any penalty imposed pursuant to this section may be recovered with costs in a summary proceeding commenced by the commissioner pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). Any sum collected as a fine or penalty pursuant to this section shall be applied toward enforcement and administration costs of the Division of Workplace Standards in the department. The payment of a fine shall not be required for a first violation by an employer if the employer shows to the satisfaction of the commissioner that the act or omission constituting the violation was an inadvertent error made in good faith and that the employer had reasonable grounds for believing that the act or omission was not a violation, and the employer acknowledges that the employer violated the law and corrects the violation, reinstates the employee, and pays any lost wages owed within 30 days of notice of the violation, as appropriate.

c Taking an adverse employment action against an employee or an adverse action regarding public benefits or services against a service beneficiary within 90 days of the time that the employee or service beneficiary makes a complaint or takes an action regarding a violation of this act shall raise a rebuttable presumption that the action was knowingly taken in retaliation.

Section 18 establishes the bill's criminal and administrative enforcement mechanisms. Knowing and willful violations constitute a disorderly persons offense with escalating fines and potential imprisonment. Retaliation triggers additional remedies including reinstatement and liquidated damages up to 200% of lost wages. The Commissioner of Labor may assess administrative penalties up to $1,000 per employee per first violation and $5,000 per subsequent violation. A first-violation good-faith safe harbor allows employers to avoid fines if they acknowledge the violation and correct it within 30 days. The 90-day retaliation presumption creates a rebuttable presumption that adverse action within 90 days of a complaint is retaliatory.

Section 19

Private right of action and civil remedies

a-b If an employee or applicant for employment is adversely affected by an employment-related decision made by an employer or public entity in violation of the provisions of this act, or if a service beneficiary is adversely affected by a decision by a public entity regarding public benefits or services in violation of this act, including any retaliatory action against the employee, service beneficiary, or applicant in violation of section 10 or section 18 of this act, the employee, service beneficiary, or applicant may institute a civil action against the employer or public entity in a court of competent jurisdiction. In the case of an adverse employment-related decision or an adverse decision about public benefits or services made in which an EMT, other surveillance, AEDS, or ABSDS was used to make or assist in making the decision, the employee, service beneficiary, or applicant shall first follow the procedures for contesting the adverse decisions provided by subsection b. of section 8 of this act, and may institute a civil action pursuant to this section only if not satisfied with the final outcome of that procedure. If liability is found, the court shall order, where appropriate and to the fullest extent possible: (1) An injunction to restrain any violation of this act which is continuing at the time that the court issues its order; (2) The reinstatement of the employee to the same position held before the retaliatory action, or to an equivalent position; (3) The reinstatement of full fringe benefits and seniority rights; (4) The compensation for all lost wages, benefits and other remuneration, with pre- and post-judgement interest, plus liquidated damages of up to 200 percent of the wages due; and (5) The payment by the employer of reasonable costs, and attorney's fees. In addition, the court or jury may order: for the first violation of the act, an assessment of a civil fine of not more than $10,000 and, for a subsequent violation not more than $20,000 for each individual harmed by the violation which shall be paid to the State Treasurer for deposit into the General Fund; punitive damages; or both a civil fine and punitive damages. The employee, service beneficiary, or applicant for employment shall be entitled to maintain the action for and on behalf of other similarly situated employees, service beneficiaries, or applicants, or designate an agent or representative to maintain the action for and on behalf of all similarly situated employees, service beneficiaries, or applicants.

d Nothing in this section shall limit the availability of other remedies at law or in equity.

Section 19 creates a private right of action for employees, applicants, and service beneficiaries adversely affected by violations. Plaintiffs must first exhaust the internal appeal procedure under Section 8 before filing suit. Available remedies include injunctive relief, reinstatement with full benefits and seniority, lost wages with pre- and post-judgment interest plus liquidated damages up to 200%, attorney's fees and costs, civil fines up to $10,000 for a first violation and $20,000 for subsequent violations per individual harmed, and punitive damages. The section authorizes class actions on behalf of similarly situated individuals. The 90-day retaliation presumption from Section 18 is restated.

Section 20

Joint and several liability

A vendor, employer, or other deployer of an EMT, ABSDS, or AEDS shall be subject to joint and several liability and shall share responsibility for any violations of the provisions of this act which occur in connection with the deployment of the EMT, ABSDS, or AEDS. A waiver of the provisions of this section is contrary to public policy and is void and unenforceable.

Section 20 establishes joint and several liability among vendors, employers, and deployers of AEDS, ABSDS, and EMT for any violations of the act. Waivers of this provision are void and unenforceable as contrary to public policy.

Section 21

Rulemaking authority

The commissioner, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt regulations to effectuate the purposes of this act).

Section 21 directs the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development to adopt implementing regulations under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Section 22

Effective date

This act shall take effect 18 months after enactment.

Section 22 provides that the act takes effect 18 months after enactment.

Safety Harmful content prevention · self-harm escalation

3 items

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