Italy Passes First National AI Law in the EU

Italy became the first EU country to pass its own national AI law, going beyond the EU AI Act. It will take effect quickly—15 days after being published in the Official Gazette.

A step beyond the EUAI Act: While the EU law lays out a risk-based framework with significant fines for non-compliance, Italy adds extra layers—particularly around workplace use, protections for minors, and copyright issues. Notably, it also introduces criminal penalties for harmful misuse of AI. To know more about regulatory and legislative changes in Italy, join us at our Milan City Meeting on November 20^th.

New requirements for employers with operations in Italy:

• Transparency: Employees must be informed when AI is used in hiring, evaluations, monitoring, or task assignments.

• Right to human oversight: Workers can challenge AI-driven decisions and request a human review.

• Privacy protections: AI monitoring and profiling must be conducted under clear limits and must respect worker dignity.

• Bias & discrimination safeguards: Employers are expected to assess and prevent bias in automated systems.

Employer considerations:

• ·Map AI use in recruiting, performance, scheduling, and monitoring.

• Conduct updated risk and privacy assessments (GDPR + AI law) for all HR technology.

• Update employee policies to clearly disclose AI use.

• Set up human review processes for decisions that affect employment conditions.

• Train managers and HR staff on new obligations and employee rights.

• Review vendor contracts to ensure third-party HR tech providers meet compliance standards.

EU at odds over AI regulation:

As Italy moves ahead with stricter AI regulations, not all EU leaders are on the same page. Speaking at a Brussels conference on September 16, former ECB President Mario Draghi called for easing some of the regulatory pressure.

• He urged the EU to simplify GDPR rules—arguing they stifle innovation—and to consider hitting pause on parts of the AI Act targeting high-risk systems, warning that Europe risks falling behind the U.S. and China.

• His remarks underscore a growing divide in Europe: how to balance worker protections with global competitiveness—leaving employers caught in the middle.

HR Policy Global’s Take: Global employers with operations in Italy need to act quickly to align HR practices, update employee communications, and review AI use in recruitment, monitoring, and decision-making. At the same time, leaders should monitor the evolving regulatory landscape in the EU, where calls to ease GDPR and pause AI rules continue.