by Emily Scace, JD, Brightmine Senior Legal Editor
The implementation of a comprehensive Colorado law aimed at preventing algorithmic discrimination has been delayed nearly five months.
Initially scheduled to take effect February 1, 2026, employers now have until June 30, 2026, to comply. The Colorado legislature is expected to amend the law in the interim.
Enacted in 2024, S.B. 205 requires businesses that use artificial intelligence (AI) to make consequential decisions – including decisions affecting employment – to take steps to prevent algorithmic discrimination. The law applies to any AI system that makes or is a substantial factor in making a consequential decision, with certain exceptions for particular use cases and types of technology.
A consequential decision means a decision with “a material legal or similarly significant effect on the provision or denial to any consumer of, or the cost or terms of” employment, employment opportunities and certain other services such as housing and health care.
Both developers and users of AI systems have responsibilities under the law to mitigate known or reasonably foreseeable risks of algorithmic discrimination. Compliance requirements include:
- Implementing a risk-management policy governing the use of the AI system
- Completing impact assessments
- Providing summary statements disclosing the purpose of the AI system, the nature of any decisions it makes or influences, management of algorithmic discrimination risks and other information
- Providing certain information following an adverse action that was made or substantially influenced by a covered AI system
- Self-reporting discoveries of algorithmic discrimination
However, amendments are expected to scale back many of these requirements. Several bills were proposed during the recent legislative session that would have eased the compliance burden by narrowing the definition of algorithmic discrimination, limiting the types of decisions covered by the law and exempting smaller employers, among other modifications. Although none of these bills passed, lawmakers are expected to take up similar proposals again before the law’s new effective date.
About the author
Emily Scace, JD
Senior Legal Editor, Brightmine
Emily Scace has more than a decade of experience in legal publishing. As a member of the Brightmine editorial team, she covers topics including employment discrimination and harassment, pay equity, pay transparency and recruiting and hiring.
Emily holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Connecticut School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in English and psychology from Northwestern University. Prior to joining Brightmine, she was a senior content specialist at Simplify Compliance. In that role, she covered a variety of workplace health and safety topics, was the editor of the OSHA Compliance Advisor newsletter, and frequently delivered webinars on key issues in workplace safety.
You may also be interested in…
About the author
Brightmine
With more than 10,000 customers, Brightmine is a leading global provider of people data, analytics and insight – empowering HR leaders to deliver brighter business outcomes.
For more than two decades, Brightmine, formerly XpertHR, has continued to help HR leaders confidently navigate the evolving world of work through our unique combination of critical workforce data, AI-enabled technology, and trusted HR expertise.
Brightmine is a division of LexisNexis Data Services within RELX®, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools. RELX serves customers in 180+ countries with 35,000+ employees. Ticker: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX.
Follow Brightmine on LinkedIn
See our extensive HR resources and expertise
In an ever-changing regulatory environment, we have everything you need to stay in control and compliant.