California Sets Oct. 1 2025 Deadline for AI Hiring Rules Amid Workday Lawsuit

California has finalized regulations that limit how employers can deploy artificial-intelligence and other automated decision-making tools in recruitment, promotion and other workplace determinations. The rules, issued under the state’s consumer-privacy framework, require businesses operating in California to comply by 1 Oct 2025. The new mandate lands as HR-software provider Workday faces a developing lawsuit that challenges alleged bias in its AI-driven hiring systems—a case that legal analysts say could influence how courts interpret the fresh California standards. California’s action adds to a rapidly widening patchwork of state oversight. Texas lawmakers outlined a suite of AI bills during the 89th legislative session, while Colorado’s legislature is revisiting its own AI statute. Employers operating across multiple states now face diverging compliance deadlines and enforcement regimes as regulators race to keep pace with workplace automation.