AI Frontier Institute

Use of automated decision systems in employment settings regulation

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Minnesota S.F. 4689 has not been enacted. As of the last recorded action (April 2026) it was in committee. It was reported out of Labor as amended, re-referred to State and Local Government, then to Judiciary and Public Safety, and then to Rules and Administration. If enacted, it would add new sections 181.9921 to 181.9927 to Minnesota Statutes chapter 181 to regulate employers' use of automated decision systems (ADS) in employment. "Employer" includes state and local government. "Worker" includes applicants and independent contractors. Pre-use notice (181.9922): Employers must give written notice to affected workers, their authorized representatives and any union before using an ADS for employment-related decisions. Notice is due 30 days before a new system or a significant change, and by September 1, 2026 for existing systems. Applicants and new workers must be notified before their personal data is collected. Copies go to the commissioner of labor and industry within ten days. The notice must describe the system's purpose, data, logic, vendors, assessed qualifications, impact assessment results and the worker's rights. Workers may opt out if reasonable alternatives exist. Records (181.9923): Employers must keep ADS-related worker data for 36 months and destroy it by 37 months unless the worker consents in writing to longer retention. They must secure the data. Workers may request their data, and the employer must provide it within seven days. Workers may also request corrections. The employer must investigate, fix inaccurate data, adjust affected decisions and notify third parties. Employer requirements (181.9924): Employers could not use an ADS to do any of the following: - violate the law; - infer protected or sensitive traits such as immigration status, health, disability or political beliefs; - make predictions unrelated to essential job functions; - penalize workers for exercising legal rights; - use facial, gait or emotion recognition; - collect data for undisclosed purposes. Using individualized data to set pay is restricted. Retaliation for refusing an ADS output in good faith is barred. Adverse action based on continuous time-tracking data is barred except for egregious misconduct. Employers may not rely solely on an ADS. They must use a qualified designated internal reviewer to corroborate outputs, and an uncorroborated or inaccurate output may not be relied on. Post-use notice and access (181.9925): Affected workers must get written notice after an ADS-based decision, generally within 15 business days, or 30 days before discipline takes effect. An ADS must not be used to terminate a worker. Workers may request detailed explanations of the decision, and employers must respond within 14 days. Vendors must assist. Right to appeal (181.9926): Workers have 30 days to appeal. The employer must respond within five business days through an independent human reviewer with authority to overturn the decision. If it is overturned, the employer must fix it within five business days. Enforcement (181.9927): The bill bars retaliation. The labor commissioner would enforce it, including by citations and civil actions. Civil actions, including for punitive damages and attorney fees, may be brought by the commissioner, the attorney general, or aggrieved workers or their exclusive representative. Civil penalties are up to $1,000 per violation for notice violations and up to $2,500 for records, employer-requirement and appeal violations, with each day or each ADS use counted separately. Employers and their labor contractors or vendors are jointly and severally liable. Local ordinances giving equal or greater protection are not preempted. The commissioner must publish model notice language. Sections 1 to 7 would take effect January 1, 2027 (Sec. 8).

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