Compliance Stuff

Continuing the trend of new state-by-state artificial intelligence (“AI”) regulations, Oregon and Washington both enacted laws regulating AI companion chatbots in March 2026, following California’s lead . Oregon’s SB 1546 and Washington’s HB 2225 will both take effect on January 1, 2027. This Legal Update provides an overview of these new laws and summarizes the key differences from California’s companion chatbot law. I. WASHINGTON HB 2225 Similar to California’s companion chatbot law, Washington’s HB 2225 defines “AI companion chatbot” as an “artificial intelligence system with a natural language interface that provides adaptive, human-like responses to user inputs, including by exhibiting anthropomorphic features, and is able to sustain a relationship across multiple interactions.” HB 2225 broadly excludes: chatbots for business functions (such as technical assistance and customer service) “if such bot does not sustain a relationship across multiple interactions and generate outpu...

On November 20, 2025, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a new one‑page technical assistance document, “ Discrimination Against American Workers Is Against the Law ,” and  updated  its national origin discrimination  landing page  in an ongoing effort to educate on anti-American bias—a key priority of the Trump administration. These materials emphasize that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects all workers from national origin discrimination, including protecting American workers from national origin bias, and stress that nothing justifies illegal national origin discrimination—whether rooted in labor cost, customer preference, or stereotypes. The EEOC’s non-binding technical assistance reflects an  ongoing enforcement focus  on unlawful anti‑American bias with a focus on immigration related issues, including favoring foreign workers and or visa holders over American workers. Quick Hits The EEOC issued a one‑page ...