When does Illinois HB 3773 (AI in Employment Decisions) take effect?
Illinois HB 3773 (AI in Employment Decisions) has been effective since January 1, 2026.
In effectHB 3773Illinois
Illinois HB 3773 (AI in Employment Decisions)
Compliance reference — obligations, penalties, applicability, and primary sources.
Last verified July 24, 2026
Effective
January 1, 2026
Max penalty
Not specified
Applies to
deployer
Status
In effect
Summary
Illinois HB 3773, enacted as Public Act 103-0804, amends the Illinois Human Rights Act to make it a civil rights violation for an employer to use artificial intelligence that has the effect of subjecting employees or applicants to discrimination on the basis of protected classes. The covered employment decisions include recruitment, hiring, promotion, renewal of employment, selection for training or apprenticeship, discharge, discipline, tenure, and terms, privileges, or conditions of employment.
The official Public Act text also prohibits using zip codes as a proxy for protected classes and requires employers to provide notice when AI is used for the covered employment purposes. The Illinois Department of Human Rights is directed to adopt implementation and enforcement rules, including the circumstances requiring notice, the timing of notice, and the means for providing notice. The statutory amendments took effect January 1, 2026.
Related employment AI pages
For adjacent employment-AI regimes in the Atlas, compare NYC Local Law 144 and New Jersey A 3854. Use the HR & Hiring industry hub when the same hiring workflow spans multiple jurisdictions.
June 2026 IDHR rulemaking status
IDHR published proposed amendments to Title 44, Part 2520 of the Illinois Administrative Code in the Illinois Register on May 15, 2026, opening a 45-day public comment period (written comments due June 29, 2026) and scheduling a June 10, 2026 public hearing. On June 2, 2026 IDHR temporarily postponed the rulemaking, including that hearing, stating the postponement was necessary to allow for continued collaboration with other state agencies and that it would provide updated next steps. As of July 24, 2026 the proposed rules remain withdrawn with no revised timeline published. Throughout, the statutory anti-discrimination, zip-code proxy, and notice requirements have remained effective (since January 1, 2026); only the detailed notice timing, means, and conditions rules are still pending. [Sources: Public Act 103-0804 and IDHR legislative update, retrieved 2026-07-24.]
Enforcement is via the Illinois Department of Human Rights complaint process. Remedies follow standard IHRA procedures and may include actual damages, civil penalties, attorney's fees, and injunctive relief — there is no fixed per-violation cap.
Key obligations
Specific compliance requirements derived from the primary source. Each item links to the relevant statutory section where applicable.
- GovernanceRole: deployer775 ILCS 5/2-102(L)
Refrain from using AI that has the effect of subjecting employees or applicants to discrimination on the basis of protected classes under the Illinois Human Rights Act in employment decisions.
Deadlineongoing
- DisclosureRole: deployer775 ILCS 5/2-102(L)
Provide notice to employees and applicants when AI is being used to make employment-related decisions covered by the amended IHRA.
Deadlineat_use
Related comparisons
Use the side-by-side comparisons to see how this law interacts with adjacent US AI laws and governance frameworks.
- NYC Local Law 144 vs Illinois HB 3773
Compare source-backed hiring-law records, applicability, and obligation categories.
Build a compliance program around these obligations
A single law is one input to a broader program. These guides show how to assign accountability, map every obligation to a control, and split developer-versus-deployer duties across the systems a team operates.
- AI governance: building an AI compliance program
The operating model — owners, committee, decision rights, lifecycle gates — that turns a law into an accountable, auditable program anchored to the NIST AI RMF GOVERN function.
- AI compliance framework: the regulatory control map
How to map each AI system to the laws it triggers, the controls that satisfy them, and the evidence that proves the controls operate.
- Deployer vs developer obligations
Which duties attach to building an AI system versus putting one into use — the split most state AI laws turn on.
Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum penalty under Illinois HB 3773 (AI in Employment Decisions)?
No fixed cap is specified; remedies follow the underlying enforcement framework.
Who must comply with Illinois HB 3773 (AI in Employment Decisions)?
Illinois HB 3773 (AI in Employment Decisions) applies to deployer of AI systems within its jurisdictional scope.
Sources
Every fact above is sourced from the official primary source. Independent verification recommended before acting on the information.
- Officialilga.gov — 775 ILCS 5/2-102 (as amended)
- ilga.gov
- dhr.illinois.gov
- dhr.illinois.gov
- www.ilga.gov
- www.ilga.gov
Last reviewed July 24, 2026. Reviewed by the AI Compliance Atlas editorial process against primary sources. Source selection, retrieval dates, and update rules are documented in the Atlas methodology.
We may receive referral commissions from recommended compliance tools. Recommendations are based on product fit and not on commission size. Links marked “partner link” include a tracked redirect.