Massachusetts Employment Law Blog

By: Amanda Thibodeau

Tommorowland Today:  The Illinois Legislature Responds to the Rise of A.I. in the Employment Sphere

Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is no longer just a sci-fi movie device.  This branch of computer science has grown to become an essential part of the technology industry.  You may recognize your own use of AI in products such as Apple’s Siri, Amazon Echo, or Netflix, which all use learning and predictive technology to get smarter and learn your likes, dislikes, interests, and behavior.

AI has recently stepped into the recruiting and hiring world, with new platforms available to employers to collect, store, and use data to screen a candidate’s facial expressions and gestures, analyze their voice, speech patterns, and knowledge on a particular subject, and evaluate a candidate’s personality and predict their fit for a role.  As with other AI technology, the more candidates the AI platform interviews, the smarter it gets in its analyses.

Illinois is the first state to respond to the rise of such use of these AI platforms.  In May 2019 Illinois passed the Artificial Intelligence Video Act (“the Act”), which goes into effect January 1, 2020.  Under the Act, an employer wishing to use an AI platform to analyze a candidate’s interview must comply with several requirements:

• Employer must notify the candidate that their interview will be videotaped and may be analyzed using AI;
• Employer must obtain consent to analyze the video using AI;
• Employer must provide information to the candidate on how the AI platform works and what it uses to evaluate candidates.

The Act applies to all candidates applying for an Illinois-based position, regardless of where the candidate is actually located.  The Act also prohibits employers from sharing the candidate’s video, “except with persons whose expertise or technology is necessary in order to evaluate an applicant’s fitness for a position.”  The candidate may also request that the video be destroyed within 30 days of a request.  This request also requires any recipient of the video to also destroy the video, including any electronically generated backup copies.

The Act itself is fairly short and does not contain any definitions or much guidance on interpretation.  Illinois is the first state to respond legislatively to this new use of AI in the employment context, and is therefore charting the course for now.  As the use of AI continues to grow in all industries, it is likely that other states may be playing catch-up sooner rather than later, and will likely use Illinois’ new Act as a model.

For more information, please contact Matthew Mitchell or Amanda Thibodeau.