Employment, Liability, and Consumers

Short Answer

Using AI in a decision does not change who is responsible for it. Employers remain liable under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and Texas Labor Code chapter 21 for discriminatory selection procedures, including tools a vendor designed. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)'s AI employment resources, including its Artificial Intelligence and the ADA page, remain published; Executive Order 14281 instead directed federal agencies to deprioritize disparate-impact enforcement. The statutes and private lawsuits remain. The Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act (TRAIGA) adds a narrow prohibition on AI developed or deployed with intent to discriminate and says disparate impact alone does not show that intent. Businesses that let AI speak to customers are bound by the Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act (DTPA), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which treats AI-generated voices as artificial voices. When AI output causes harm, ordinary negligence, misrepresentation, products liability and contract law decide who pays, and Texas allocates fault among those responsible. Insurers and lenders have sector rules on top, including a new Texas limit on automated adverse determinations in utilization review and a June 2026 Department of Insurance bulletin. Pricing tools that pool competitors’ data raise antitrust risk.

Key Authorities

• Tracker: AI accuracy and deception records.