AI in hiring and HR: compliance and responsible use

For HR, recruiters, hiring managers and HR tech buyers who need to use AI in hiring and employment decisions fairly and lawfully.

For: HR professionals, recruiters, hiring managers and HR technology buyers

  • 2 contact hours
  • 8 modules
  • 8 interactives
  • 5 job aids
  • Updated October 11, 2026

What you will be able to do

  • Identify where AI is used across hiring and employment and determine when a tool shapes an employment decision the employer is responsible for.
  • Explain how AI tools create disparate impact under Title VII and the ADEA, and calculate an impact ratio using the four-fifths rule.
  • Recognize ADA risks of AI tools (screen-outs, pre-offer inquiries, inaccessible formats) and provide reasonable accommodations.
  • Apply state and local AI hiring rules, including NYC Local Law 144, the Illinois AI Video Interview Act and HB 3773, California's ADS and ADMT rules, and Colorado's 2026 law.
  • Determine when the FCRA applies to AI vendor reports and evaluate and contract with HR AI vendors using evidence.
  • Build candidate transparency, meaningful human review and ongoing bias monitoring into an HR AI workflow.

Learn how to use AI in recruiting and HR without screening out qualified people or breaking the law. You will map where AI touches employment decisions, calculate adverse impact with the four-fifths rule, spot disability and accessibility risks, apply New York City, Illinois, California and Colorado rules, handle AI background reports under the FCRA, vet vendors and build human review and monitoring.

Built for HR generalists, recruiters, talent acquisition leaders, hiring managers and HR technology buyers. Cases follow a grocery chain hiring 1,800 seasonal workers, a Chicago software company whose screener drifted, a Colorado Springs call center, a Jersey City staffing agency, a Lakeland home health agency and a San Diego hotel group.

The employer is responsible for the selection tools it uses, whoever built them, and federal guidance has been withdrawn while state and city rules multiply. This course gives you a dated, practical playbook grounded in the statutes and regulations that still apply, plus checklists, notice templates and vendor worksheets you can use right away.

What you’ll be able to do Monday morning

  1. List every AI feature in your HR systems and mark the ones that screen, rank, score or decide.
  2. Calculate impact ratios by sex, race and ethnicity, and age band for one AI-assisted hiring step.
  3. Add an accommodation and alternative-process contact to every job posting that uses an AI step.
  4. Ask each HR AI vendor for its validation study, adverse impact data and FCRA status.
  5. Review a sample of applicants just below your AI cut score and override where the tool missed something.

Curriculum

8 modules · 32 lessons · about 2 contact hours

01Where is AI showing up in hiring and HR?Free preview14 min
  1. Where does AI appear across the employee life cycle?
  2. Which AI uses count as employment decisions?
  3. Who is responsible when a vendor's tool discriminates?
  4. How should an HR team get a handle on its AI tools?
  • Sort activity: Does this AI use shape an employment decision?

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

02How can AI hiring tools discriminate, even without intent?16 min
  1. What is the difference between disparate treatment and disparate impact?
  2. How do AI tools pick up bias without seeing protected traits?
  3. How do you measure adverse impact with the four-fifths rule?
  4. What can employers do when a tool shows adverse impact?
  • Branching scenario: The screener that filters out women and older applicants

Diagram · In practice checklist · 3-question knowledge check

03How do AI tools affect applicants with disabilities?14 min
  1. How can AI tools screen out people with disabilities?
  2. Can an AI tool ask disability-related questions?
  3. What does a good accommodation process look like for AI tools?
  4. How should HR evaluate a tool for disability risk before using it?
  • Ethics dilemma: An accommodation request in the hiring rush

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

04What do New York City and Illinois require for AI hiring tools?15 min
  1. What does New York City Local Law 144 cover?
  2. What does LL144 not do, and why is enforcement getting tougher?
  3. What does the Illinois Artificial Intelligence Video Interview Act require?
  4. How do these laws fit with federal law?
  • Spot the issue: Spot the problems in this candidate notice

Diagram · In practice checklist · 3-question knowledge check

05What do Illinois, Colorado and California add?15 min
  1. What does Illinois HB 3773 require?
  2. What does Colorado's 2026 AI law mean for employers?
  3. What changed in California in 2025 and 2026?
  4. What about other states?
  • Decision tree: Which AI hiring rules may apply?

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

06When does the Fair Credit Reporting Act apply to AI vendor reports?14 min
  1. When is an AI vendor's report a consumer report?
  2. What must employers do when they use consumer reports?
  3. What do AI-powered background tools add to the risk?
  4. How should HR vet an AI background or screening vendor?
  • Matching activity: Match the term to its meaning

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

07How should HR choose and contract with AI vendors?14 min
  1. What evidence should HR ask for before buying?
  2. Which contract terms protect the employer?
  3. How do you run a pilot without harming applicants?
  4. Who inside the company needs to be involved?
  • Spot the issue: Spot the problems in an AI-written job posting

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

08How do you build transparency, human review and monitoring into HR AI?16 min
  1. What should candidates be told?
  2. What does meaningful human review look like in HR?
  3. How do you monitor HR AI tools after launch?
  4. What does a responsible HR AI workflow look like from start to finish?
  • Self-assessment: Is our HR team ready to use AI responsibly?

Diagram · In practice checklist · 3-question knowledge check

Final assessment: 23 questions, 70% to pass, then your certificate

Try it now, no account needed

The screener that filters out women and older applicants

A branching scenario from this course. Your choices are not saved.

Free sample activity

The screener that filters out women and older applicants

You are an HR manager at a Chicago software company. A recruiter shows you that women reaching phone screens dropped from 31 percent to 18 percent after an AI screener launched, and few applicants who graduated before 2000 get through.

Inside the course

Practice activities

  • Sort activity1
  • Decision tree1
  • Spot the issue2
  • Matching activity1
  • Branching scenario1
  • Ethics dilemma1
  • Self-assessment1

Job aids you keep

  • HR AI Tool Pre-Use ChecklistChecklist
  • HR AI Vendor Evaluation WorksheetWorksheet
  • Candidate AI Notice TemplateTemplate
  • Prompt Sheet: Inclusive Job Posts and Structured InterviewsReference sheet
  • HR AI Use Policy StarterPolicy starter

Credit and approval status

Certificate of completion

This course awards a certificate of completion for 2 contact hours of instruction. It is not approved or accredited by any licensing board, state agency, HR certification body or continuing education accreditor. Check with your certifying body, employer or licensing board whether this course meets your specific requirement.

Pathways we may pursue include HR recertification credit with SHRM and HRCI. None of these approvals exists today; the course page will show an approval only after it is granted.

Our full approvals list

Questions about this course

Who is this course for?

HR generalists, recruiters, talent acquisition leaders, hiring managers and the people who buy HR technology. It covers AI used across hiring and employment, from job ads and resume screening to video interviews, background checks and promotion analytics, and focuses on what you need to do differently on the job.

Does this course earn SHRM or HRCI credit?

Not today. You receive a certificate of completion for 2 contact hours of instruction. We may pursue HR recertification pathways, but no approval exists yet, and the course page will show any approval once granted. Check with your certifying body whether it accepts this certificate.

Does it cover state and city AI hiring laws?

Yes. It explains New York City Local Law 144, the Illinois AI Video Interview Act and HB 3773, California's 2025 civil rights regulations on automated-decision systems and the CCPA ADMT rules, and Colorado's 2026 law, as checked on 10/11/2026. Laws change often, so confirm current rules with employment counsel.

Is this legal advice?

No. It is training on how federal, state and local rules apply to AI in HR, so you can spot issues and work with counsel. It does not replace advice from an employment lawyer about your specific tools, jobs and locations.

How long does it take, and how is it assessed?

About 2 hours: eight modules with a branching screener scenario, a law-finder decision tool, spot-the-issue exercises and knowledge checks, then a 23-question final assessment with a 70 percent pass mark. Spaced reminder questions follow at 3, 10 and 30 days.

What can I download?

An HR AI pre-use checklist, a vendor evaluation worksheet, a candidate AI notice template, a prompt sheet for inclusive job posts and structured interviews, and an HR AI use policy starter to adapt with counsel.

This course is general education and training awareness from CE Courses Hub on AI in hiring and HR. It is not legal, medical or professional advice and does not replace your employer's policies, your licensing board's rules, or advice from a qualified professional. Completing it earns a certificate of completion for the stated contact hours; it is not approved or accredited by any licensing board, state agency or accreditor unless an approval is shown on the course page. Check with your board, employer or state agency whether this course meets your specific requirement.