1. Home
  2. |Insights
  3. |NYC Delays Enforcement of Automated Employment Decision Tools Law

NYC Delays Enforcement of Automated Employment Decision Tools Law

Client Alert | 1 min read | 12.13.22

New York City has just announced that it will delay enforcement of Local Law 144, which will require employers and employment agencies using automated employment decision tools to ensure that a bias audit is conducted prior to the use of such tools, and will require notice of the use of such tools to covered candidates or employees.  The NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection is planning a second public hearing on the law, due to the high volume of public comments received in response to its proposed rules.  The agency is currently planning to delay enforcement of the rule until April 15, 2023.  We will continue to monitor for updates.

Insights

Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.21.25

A Sign of What’s to Come? Court Dismisses FCA Retaliation Complaint Based on Alleged Discriminatory Use of Federal Funding

On November 7, 2025, in Thornton v. National Academy of Sciences, No. 25-cv-2155, 2025 WL 3123732 (D.D.C. Nov. 7, 2025), the District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) retaliation complaint on the basis that the plaintiff’s allegations that he was fired after blowing the whistle on purported illegally discriminatory use of federal funding was not sufficient to support his FCA claim. This case appears to be one of the first filed, and subsequently dismissed, following Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s announcement of the creation of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative on May 19, 2025, which “strongly encourages” private individuals to file lawsuits under the FCA relating to purportedly discriminatory and illegal use of federal funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in violation of Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (Jan. 21, 2025). In this case, the court dismissed the FCA retaliation claim and rejected the argument that an organization could violate the FCA merely by “engaging in discriminatory conduct while conducting a federally funded study.” The analysis in Thornton could be a sign of how forthcoming arguments of retaliation based on reporting allegedly fraudulent DEI activity will be analyzed in the future....