AI for HR Without Creating a Legal Mess
HR-specific AI governance covering EEOC, ADEA, Title VII, NYC Local Law 144 bias audits, Colorado AI Act, and Mobley v. Workday class action lessons. Credential: HRL.
What You’ll Walk Away With
Four completed artifacts by Lesson 8:
- AI inventory — Every HR AI tool your company uses, classified by regulatory exposure
- Bias audit plan — Who audits, when, what they measure, what gets published
- 6-pillar HR AI governance framework — Signed off by legal
- 1-page HR AI policy — Defensible, deployable, specific to your company
Why This Course Exists
The 2026 HR landscape has changed three times in 18 months:
- Mobley v. Workday (May 2025 conditional class certification) — AI vendor is now directly liable under “agent” theory
- NYC Local Law 144 — Annual independent bias audits mandated (DCWP enforcement is ramping up per 2025 Comptroller audit)
- Colorado AI Act (effective June 30, 2026) — First comprehensive state AI law; HR AI = “high-risk”
Illinois, California, Texas, New Jersey all have pending legislation. Federal guidance is in flux (some EEOC documents pulled in 2025 administration transition, but federal laws still apply).
If your company uses AI for resume screening, candidate sourcing, interview scoring, promotion recommendations, or termination risk analysis, your exposure is class-action scale.
This course teaches you how to get it right.
Who This Is For
- HR directors + VPs at companies 50-5,000 employees
- Recruiters + Talent Acquisition leaders using AI screening
- People Ops + HRBPs deploying AI for performance/promotions
- General Counsel partnering with HR on AI governance
Not for: HR at companies with no AI yet (you don’t need this until deploying), HR tech vendors (different specialty).
What This Course Won’t Do
- Replace your employment lawyer — builds the framework they’ll review
- Certify you for legal practice — this is governance, not legal advice
- Guarantee compliance — laws change; this teaches the principles that adapt
- Walk you through specific vendor tool UIs (vendor-agnostic)
What You'll Learn
- Identify which HR AI tools are subject to NYC Local Law 144 (AEDTs) and Colorado AI Act
- Execute a bias audit methodology for your AI hiring tools (independent auditor requirement)
- Apply EEOC disparate impact analysis to AI-generated hiring decisions
- Build a defensible HR AI governance framework (AI inventory, impact assessments, human appeals process)
- Recognize the Mobley v. Workday class action lessons: AI vendor liability, ADEA collective action exposure
- Document your company's HR AI policy in a 1-page framework your legal team will approve
Course Syllabus
Prerequisites
- Current HR role with recruiting, screening, or promotion responsibilities
- Basic familiarity with EEOC framework
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this course replace consulting an employment lawyer?
No, and it's explicit about that. This course builds the governance framework, AI inventory, bias audit plan, and 1-page policy that your employment counsel will review and sign off on. It teaches you the principles and the right questions to ask, so the lawyer's hours go to judgment calls instead of building the framework from scratch.
We don't operate in NYC or Colorado — does this still apply to me?
Yes. NYC Local Law 144 and the Colorado AI Act are the most concrete laws today, but Illinois, California, Texas, and New Jersey all have pending legislation, and federal frameworks (EEOC, ADEA, Title VII) apply nationally. The course teaches you the principles those laws share so the framework adapts as your state lands its version.
What if our AI hiring vendor (Workday, HireVue, etc.) says they handle the bias audits?
Lesson 3 covers exactly this — the Mobley v. Workday class action established that vendor self-audits don't insulate the employer, and the agent-theory liability cuts both ways. Lesson 7 walks through the contract terms, audit access, and indemnification language you need from any HR AI vendor before you trust their compliance claims.
Is this course about hiring AI specifically, or all HR AI?
Both. Hiring/screening AI gets the most regulatory attention (and the bias audit work in Lessons 4-5 is hiring-focused), but the 6-pillar governance framework in Lesson 6 covers performance review AI, promotion algorithms, attrition prediction, and any other HR AI surface. The capstone policy is broad enough to cover everything you deploy.
I'm an HRBP, not the head of HR — is this above my pay grade?
It's exactly your level. HRBPs are usually the people who notice an AI tool is producing weird results first, and the governance framework here is what you bring to your director or General Counsel to make the case for action. The 1-page policy template is designed to be a discussion artifact, not a fait accompli.
