New AI and “Automated-Decision System” Rules in California
Stay Compliant While Using AI in Recruitment
There is a lot of buzz right now about using AI tools to write job descriptions, screen resumes, score assessments, and even analyze video interviews. In California, this is no longer just a tech trend. The California Civil Rights Council has adopted new regulations on Automated-Decision Systems (ADS) and artificial intelligence in employment under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, and they take effect October 1, 2025.
Under these rules, an ADS is defined broadly as any computational process that makes or helps make decisions about an employment benefit. That can include tools that: run online tests or games to measure skills or personality, screen resumes for certain terms, target job ads to specific groups, or analyze facial expressions, tone of voice, or word choice in video interviews. The key point is that if those tools end up disadvantaging people based on protected characteristics like race, national origin, gender, disability, religion, age, or other FEHA-protected classes, that can be unlawful discrimination even if the bias is “inside the algorithm.”
The regulations also make clear that employers may need to provide reasonable accommodations when using ADS, for example adjusting or offering an alternative to a timed online test, or being cautious about tools that judge an applicant’s facial expressions or speech patterns. They extend potential liability not just to employers, but also to “agents” who run hiring or screening on an employer’s behalf, which can include vendors that provide ADS tools. And they expand recordkeeping: employers must now retain ADS-related records and other personnel records for four years, including the data used by or produced from these systems.
What this means in practice:
Do not let individual managers adopt AI or screening tools on their own.
Bring HR (and legal, if you have it) into the loop before you buy or turn on any system that screens, ranks, or evaluates candidates or employees.
HR should help identify which tools count as ADS, review how they work, ask vendors about bias testing, plan for accommodations, and make sure you have a simple way to retain the required records.
The tools can still be helpful, but in California they need to be used thoughtfully and with HR clearly at the table.