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Read. Follow. Verify.New Jersey Bill A1021 Sets Standards and Annual Audit Requirements for Automated Employment Decision Tools
Last action · January 13, 2026: Introduced, Referred to Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology CommitteeSponsor: Balvir Singh
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What This Bill Would Do
New Jersey bill A1021 prohibits employers and employment agencies from using s unless they have undergone an independent within the past year. The measure establishes detailed criteria for evaluating these tools across protected categories such as race, sex, age, and disability.
Employers and employment agencies across New Jersey must schedule regular independent bias evaluations for automated hiring and promotion software, or cease using them entirely.
- Automated employment decision tools utilize algorithms and artificial intelligence to screen candidates, evaluate performance, and assist with hiring and promotion decisions. context
- The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the state legislature responsible for considering proposed bills and resolutions. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
employers
Employers must ensure any automated employment decision tools they utilize undergo annual independent bias audits conforming to state standards.
employment agencies
Employment agencies are subject to the same annual bias auditing requirements when deploying automated screening and recruitment software.
candidates for employment and current employees
Covered individuals are assessed by tools evaluated for discriminatory impacts across protected categories.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who qualifies as an independent auditor under this bill?
What categories must be evaluated during a bias audit?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
1 action- Jan 13, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced, Referred to Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Establishment of State-Level Algorithmic Accountability
The bill introduces formal regulatory oversight and independent evaluation mandates for employers utilizing automated decision systems in New Jersey.
Connected Entities
Sources
njleg.state.nj.us
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy50Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz60Current news / social attention level
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