Italy requires a human decision-maker for AI-driven firings from October 23

From 23 October 2026, employers in Italy will no longer be able to base final decisions about their staff solely on automated processing by artificial intelligence systems. Legislative Decree No. 179 of 7 October 2026, published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale on 8 October, aligns Italian law with the EU AI Act, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689.

The employment rule sits in Chapter III of the decree, which covers AI in training, the professions, work, healthcare and public administration. As of 19 October the article text was not yet available in official databases, so its content is known from two consistent legal analyses published on 13 October: one by EcNews, the legal news site of publisher Euroconference, and a note from the Milan office of law firm A&O Shearman.

A person with real authority

According to those analyses, the rule applies to any employer using AI in decision-making about the employment relationship, including its creation, modification and termination. Disciplinary sanctions and performance evaluations are covered too. The final call must rest with a natural person holding effective and autonomous power, not a purely formal sign-off.

The penalty is nullity: a dismissal or other employer decision taken in breach of the rule is void. Employers must also inform workers before any processing under Article 1-bis of Legislative Decree No. 152 of 1997. On request, an employee can obtain, through a human, an intelligible explanation of the decision, including the weight given to the AI system and its main parameters.

Stricter than the GDPR

Article 22 of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation already protects people from significant decisions based solely on automated processing, but allows exceptions for contracts, law and explicit consent. Under the Italian decree, an employee's consent does not lift the requirement. And while GDPR breaches lead to administrative fines, in Italy the HR decision itself falls.

Recruitment and candidate selection are outside the rule because they are not final decisions. A&O Shearman says the carve-out extends to CV screening, even when a candidate is rejected, though Article 22 of the GDPR still applies if that screening is fully automated.

The move fits a wider European trend. The EU Platform Work Directive, (EU) 2024/2831, likewise requires that decisions to suspend, restrict or terminate a platform worker's account or contract be taken by a human, and member states must transpose it by 2 December 2026.