Local Law 144 Audit by VANDAM: Bias audits for hiring tools covered by NYC Local Law 144

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# Local Law 144 Audit by VANDAM: Bias audits for hiring tools covered by NYC Local Law 144

> An independent bias audit, a public results summary and candidate-notice drafts for hiring tools covered by NYC Local Law 144. The engagement starts by establishing which tools and uses are within scope.

URL: https://vandam.ai/local-law-144-audit  
Contact: hendrik@vibelab.be

# A bias audit. The publication pack to go with it.

An independent bias audit, a public results summary and candidate-notice drafts for hiring tools covered by NYC Local Law 144. The engagement starts by establishing which tools and uses are within scope.

[Discuss the project](mailto:hendrik@vibelab.be?subject=VANDAM%20/%20Local%20Law%20144%20Audit)

**$8,000** annual · repeats every year

## Few employers publish the audit, and few get checked.

- **18/391**
  New York City employers studied had posted a bias audit. Thirteen posted the required notice. [Cornell](https://www.arxiv.org/abs/2406.01399) and Data & Society, 2024.
- **1:17**
  The city reviewed 32 companies and found one issue. State auditors reviewing the same companies found at least 17. [NY State Comptroller](https://www.osc.ny.gov/state-agencies/audits/2025/12/02/enforcement-local-law-144-automated-employment-decision-tools), December 2025.
- **$1,500**
  maximum penalty per repeat violation, and every day a tool runs out of compliance counts as a separate one. [Local Law 144](https://intro.nyc/local-laws/2021-144).

## Bring the tool, the audit and the notices together.

Hiring software can play different roles in a decision, so the first question is how your organization actually uses it. For covered automated employment decision tools, [New York City](https://www.nyc.gov/site/dca/about/automated-employment-decision-tools.page) has enforced Local Law 144 since July 5, 2023. The tool needs a bias audit dated within **one year** of its use, a published summary of the results, and a notice to candidates and employees **10 business days** before use.

We assemble that work into one traceable file for your HR and legal teams. The audit ties its results to the data and method behind them. The publication pack holds the summary and notice drafts for your review, and records where and when each one has to appear.

## How the audit file is prepared.

1. Confirm the tool and use: We inventory the relevant tools and document their role in hiring or promotion. The scope assessment determines which uses are covered and defines the work needed for the engagement. Tools in hiring - Resume screener · ATScovered
- Interview schedulernot covered
- Assessment test scoringcovered
- Promotion reviewnot used
2. Perform the independent audit: The auditor documents the data, method and required selection or scoring rates and impact ratios. The results include the applicable category and intersectional breakdowns, with the supporting calculations retained. Impact ratios · example - Category A1.00
- Category B0.91
- Category C0.84
- Category D0.78
3. Prepare the publication materials: We prepare a dated public summary and the applicable candidate-notice drafts. Your team receives the results, supporting references and a record of required timing and placement for review and publication. Publication file - Public summary, datedready for review
- Candidate notice, 10 business daysdraft
- Careers page placementagreed
- Next audit duewithin a year

## Dated once. Due again within the year.

The city requires a bias audit within one year of the tool’s use, so a covered tool that stays in use needs a newer audit every year. The engagement repeats annually, and the file, method and data requests carry over.

- Yearly audit: New data, the same method, and a new dated summary and notice drafts.
- Scope review: When a tool, its version or its use changes, we check whether the scope assessment still holds.
- Audit calendar: The audit date, posting dates, first use and one-year mark tracked for each tool.
- HR and legal check-in: A session before each audit on tool changes, data and placement.

[Ask about the yearly audit](mailto:hendrik@vibelab.be?subject=VANDAM%20/%20Local%20Law%20144%20Audit%20care)

## What you receive.

- Tool inventory: The tools, their uses and the scope assessment.
- Bias audit: Category and intersectional results, with the required impact ratios.
- Public summary: A results summary prepared for publication.
- Candidate notices: Drafts and a record of where they need to appear.

$8,000

annual · repeats every year

An indication from past projects. The final price can move a little with the size and complexity of your company, and we agree it in writing before we start.

For HR, people and legal teams using automated hiring tools. Start by confirming which tools and uses fall within the law’s scope. [NYC requirements](https://www.nyc.gov/site/dca/about/automated-employment-decision-tools.page)

[hendrik@vibelab.be](mailto:hendrik@vibelab.be?subject=VANDAM%20/%20Local%20Law%20144%20Audit)

## Where the audit leads. Each next step has its own service.

### Eval Suite

Tests the hiring tool again whenever its model changes, between yearly audits.

**$12,800**

### Source Cleanup

Cleans the candidate data the tool reads, where the audit traced bias to it.

### Agent Attack Audit

Red-teams the screening agents and what they can reach.

**$6,400**

DCWP’s AEDT complaint process is ineffective in ensuring that all complaints related to non-compliance with LL144 are routed to DCWP. ([New York State Comptroller](https://www.osc.ny.gov/state-agencies/audits/2025/12/02/enforcement-local-law-144-automated-employment-decision-tools), audit of city enforcement, December 2025)

## Before you ask.

### Does Local Law 144 apply to our tools?

That depends on how each tool is used in hiring or promotion decisions, which is why every engagement starts with a scope assessment. We document the use and the reasoning, and your legal team makes the final call.

### What data do you need from us?

Records of the tool’s use, with the outcomes and the sex and race or ethnicity categories applicants reported. Applicants with an unknown category are counted and shown separately.

### What if an impact ratio is low?

Local Law 144 sets no pass mark. The audit reports the results, and what they mean for your hiring is a question for your legal team, since other anti-discrimination laws still apply.

### Is this legal advice?

No. We deliver the audit, the summary and the notice drafts. Your HR and legal teams review them and decide what is published, where and when.