On July 12, 2024, the European Union published the language of its much-anticipated Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), which is the world’s first comprehensive legislation regulating the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI), including by employers.

Quick Hits

• EU published the final AI Act, setting it into force on August 1, 2024.
• The legislation treats employers’ use of AI in the workplace as potentially high-risk and imposes obligations for their use and potential penalties for violations.
• The legislation will be incrementally implemented over the next three years.

The AI Act will “enter into force” on August 1, 2024 (or twenty days from the July 12, 2024, publication date). The legislation’s publication follows its adoption by the EU Parliament in March 2024 and approval by the EU Council in May 2024.

The groundbreaking AI legislation takes a risk-based approach that will subject AI applications to four different levels of increasing regulation: (1) “unacceptable risk,” which are banned; (2) “high risk”; (3) “limited risk”; and (4) “minimal risk.”

While it does not exclusively apply to employers, the law treats employers’ use of AI technologies in the workplace as potentially “high risk.” Violations of the law could result in hefty penalties.

Key Dates

The publication commences the timeline of implementation over the next three years, as well as outline when we should expect to see more guidance on how it will be applied. The most critical dates for employers are:

• August 1, 2024 – The AI Act will enter into force.
• February 2, 2025 – (Six months from the date of entry into force) – Provisions on banned AI systems will take effect, meaning use of such systems must be discontinued by that time.
• May 2, 2025 – (Nine months from the date of entry into force) – “Codes of practice” should be ready, giving providers of general purpose AI systems further clarity on obligations under the AI Act, which could possibly offer some insight to employers.
• August 2, 2025 – (Twelve months from the date of entry into force) – Provisions on notifying authorities, general-purpose AI models, governance, confidentiality, and most penalties will take effect.
• February 2, 2025 – (Eighteen months from the date of entry into force) – Guidelines should be available specifying how to comply with the provisions on high-risk AI systems, including practical examples of high-risk versus not high-risk systems.
• August 2, 2026 – (Twenty-four months from the date of entry into force) – The remainder of the legislation will take effect, except for a minor provision regarding specific types of high-risk AI systems that will go into effect on August 1, 2027, a year later.

Next Steps

Adopting the EU AI Act will set consistent standards across the EU nations. Further, the legislation is significant in that it is likely to serve as a framework for AI laws or regulations in other jurisdictions, similar to how the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has served as a model in the area of data privacy.

In the United States, regulation of AI and automated decision-making systems has been a priority, particularly when the tools are used to make employment decisions. In October 2023, the Biden administration issued an executive order requiring federal agencies to balance the benefits of AI with legal risks. Several federal agencies have since updated guidance concerning the use of AI and several states and cities have been considering legislation or regulations.