On October 30th, 2023, President Biden issued an Executive Order (EO) addressing discrimination caused by artificial intelligence (AI), amongst other topics. 

The White House announced this EO in seeking to prevent AI from leading to and deepening discrimination, bias, and other issues in justice, healthcare, and housing. 

Now, agencies will be empowered to combat algorithmic discrimination, while enforcing existing authorities to protect anti-discrimination rights and safety. 

In summary, the Executive Order: 

• Calls for clear guidelines to keep AI algorithms from being used to exacerbate discrimination by landlords, Federal benefits programs, and Federal contractors.
• Tackles algorithmic discrimination through training, technical assistance, and coordinates with the Department of Justice and Federal civil rights offices for best practices to investigate and prosecute AI civil rights violations.
• Ensures fairness throughout the criminal justice system by developing best practices for the use of AI in sentencing, parole and probation, pretrial release and detention, risk assessments, surveillance, crime forecasting and predictive policing, and forensic analysis.

The Biden Administration Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights sets out steps those using AI can take to ensure fairness and equality. The steps include regularly checking for and addressing any biases in the design and use of AI systems, using diverse and representative data to avoid discrimination or unfair impacts, ensuring accessibility for people with disabilities during the design and development of AI systems, conducting tests to identify and address any disparities before and after the AI system is in use, providing clear oversight from organizations to ensure fairness, and conducting independent evaluations and sharing easy-to-understand reports, including test results and how any issues are being addressed, to ensure these protective measures are in place.

If companies fail to comply and use AI incorrectly to deepen discrimination and bias, this Executive Order will become the basis for discrimination lawsuits as a result of the incorrect use.

To learn more about the Executive Order click here. To read the Biden Administration Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights click here. 

On Day 1 of President Biden's Term, he expanded our understanding of the Fair Housing Act by making clear that it includes protections against discrimination on the basis of gender identity & sexual orientation. 

See his Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation for your full understanding.

As explained by the President, the US Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that employment discrimination laws, which expressly prohibit sex discrimination, also prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation; and that the same reasoning behind the Supreme Court's ruling will now be applied to the Fair Housing Act's prohibition of discrimination in the sale and rental of housing across our nation. 

In fact, the Executive Order put all perpetrators on notice by stating that the government will issue plans, within 100 days, to effectuate its policy of enforcing these prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation.

While many states, such as NY, and other locales, already prohibit gender identity and sexual orientation discrimination in housing, the Federal Government stepping in to enforce violations can change the game.

How will you change your business because of this Order?  

• Proceedings Commenced Prior to March 17, 2020:
• The court must conduct a status or settlement conference wherein the court reviews the procedural history of the case, any effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, if any, upon the parties, any other relief or protection available to the tenant, among others. Thereafter, the court may take further steps it deems appropriate, including allowing the matter to proceed and allowing the enforcement of warrants of eviction. 

• Proceedings Commenced After March 17, 2020: 
• All residential eviction matters (nonpayment and holdover) may proceed subject to: 
• Current or future federal and state laws affecting evictions; 
• For evictions based on nonpayment of rent: 
• FHA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac borrowers are prohibited from starting nonpayment evictions and are encouraged to seek forbearance and other options with their lenders; 
• The CDC also halts evictions for nonpayment of rent until December 31, 2020. You can read more about it and the penalties HERE. 
• The individual court’s scheduling requirements as affected by health and safety concerns due to COVID-19. 

• Nonpayment proceedings are subject to the Tenant Safe Harbor Act: 

• Courts are prohibited from issuing a warrant of eviction or judgment of possession against a residential tenant or other lawful occupant who suffered a financial hardship during the COVID-19 period and is being evicted for non-payment of rent due during such period. 
• Currently, the COVID-19 period runs from March 7, 2020 to January 1, 2021, as extended by Executive Order 202.66 and subject to any further extensions. This means that courts will only issue money judgments (no warrants of evictions and judgments of possession) on eviction proceedings based on nonpayment of rent due during the COVID-19 period. 

• Proceedings Commenced Prior to March 17, 2020:
• May proceed in the normal course subject to:
1. Any existing prohibition on the prosecution or enforcement of evictions (as of this writing, there are none); and
2. The suspension of statutory deadlines until November 3, 2020 per Executive Order 202.67.

• Proceedings Commenced After March 17, 2020:
• Eviction proceedings for nonpayment of rent are prohibited until October 20, 2020 per Executive Order 202.64 and subject to any further extensions.
• Holdover eviction proceedings may be commenced but remain suspended until further order of the court per Administrative Order 160A/20. This means the petition may be filed and the tenants may file an answer, but the proceedings shall remain suspended. However, if all parties are represented by counsel, the matter may be eligible for calendaring virtual settlement conferences with the court.

• All proceedings will be conducted remotely whenever appropriate.
• Mediation and other alternative dispute resolution methods are encouraged where either all parties are represented by counsel; or all parties are unrepresented by counsel.
• All petitions must include the Notice to Respondent Tenant.
• Filing and service may be done through NYSCEF, if available and by mail, if not.

1. Commencing a commercial eviction proceeding against any commercial tenant for the nonpayment of rent;
2. Commencing a foreclosure of any commercial mortgage for nonpayment of such mortgage; and
3. Enforcing of such eviction or foreclosure.

For all essential businesses or entities, any employees who are present in the workplace shall be provided and shall wear face coverings when in direct contact with customers or members of the public. Businesses must provide, at their expense, such face coverings for their employees. This provision may be enforced by local governments or local law enforcement as if it were an order pursuant to section 12 or 12-b of the Public Health Law.  This requirement shall be effective Wednesday, April 15 at 8 p.m.

During the period when an Executive Order limiting operation of a type of facility or limiting the number of persons who may occupy any space is in effect, any operation of such a facility or occupancy of any such space by more than the number of persons allowed by said Executive Order shall be deemed to be a violation of law and in particular, but not by way of limitation, shall be deemed to be a violation of the Uniform Code or other local building code in effect in the jurisdiction in which the facility or space is located. In the event of any such violation, any state, county, or local police officer authorized to enforce laws within the jurisdiction in which the space or facility is located is authorized to remove persons from such space or facility. In addition, in the event of such violation, any state, county, or local code enforcement official or fire marshal authorized to enforce the Uniform Code or other local building code within the jurisdiction in which the facility or space is located is authorized to issue an appearance ticket, a Notice of Violation, an Order to Remedy such violation, which shall require immediate compliance, and/or a Do Not Occupy Order to any owner, operator, or occupant of any such facility or space. Nothing in this provision shall limit the authority of any governmental unit or agency to take such other and/or additional enforcement actions to the extent necessary to ensure compliance with such occupancy-related directives or facility operation-related directives.

• Charge of "violation of law"
• Charge of "violation of the Uniform Code or other local building code"
• Removal by police
• Receipt of an appearance ticket, Notice of Violation, and/or Order to Remedy
• Receipt of a Do Not Occupy Order to the "owner, operator, or occupant of any such facility or space"

The end.