Resource · TalentSight practice
AI Hiring Vendor Questionnaire.
Twelve questions for the HR technology vendors in your stack.
Twelve questions, aligned to Illinois HB 3773 and the IDHR draft notice rules. Built to send to every AI-powered HR technology vendor in the stack and bring the answers back to internal review. Most organizations find that two or three vendors return materially different responses on the same questions — that comparison is where the diligence work typically begins.
What it covers
The questions are organized in four sections, each tracking a specific obligation under HB 3773 and the draft IDHR rules.
Model behavior and scope.
Whether the system meets the statute's broad definition of artificial intelligence, what inputs it uses, and what disparate impact testing the vendor has performed and can document.
Proxy variables and protected-class exposure.
Whether the system uses zip codes — the named per-se prohibited proxy in HB 3773 — and what other variables (name, voice, image, educational institution, employment history pattern, geographic markers) function as proxies in the model.
Notice and recordkeeping.
What notice the vendor provides or supports, what records the vendor retains regarding inputs, outputs, and decisions, and what the vendor's contractual representations and indemnification provisions look like.
Incident response and documentation.
What documentation the vendor will provide on request for an IDHR investigation or a plaintiff's discovery demand, and how the vendor handles material model changes and sub-processor relationships.
Why it matters
Under HB 3773, the employer is liable for the conduct of the AI system the employer chose to deploy.
Intent is not a defense. The employer's compliance posture rests on documented vendor due diligence, not on assurances received in a sales call.
The questionnaire is built around the substantive provisions of the statute. A vendor that returns substantive answers on letterhead has produced documentation that becomes part of the employer's compliance file. A vendor that returns generic assurances without documentation has produced a finding the employer should record. Either way, the questionnaire moves the diligence record forward.
The questionnaire is also useful in the EPLI renewal conversation. Employment practices liability carriers are beginning to ask AI governance questions on renewal applications; employers with documented vendor responses bring evidence to that conversation rather than adjectives.
Who this is for
The questionnaire is built for the HR leaders and adjacent functions who own the vendor relationships in the HR technology stack.
- Chief Human Resources Officers and Heads of People
- VPs of Talent Acquisition and HR Compliance leads
- HR operations leaders responsible for HR technology
- In-house Employment Counsel supporting HR
- HR leaders preparing for EPLI renewal conversations
- HR leaders preparing for the board or audit committee briefing on employment AI
The questionnaire is not legal advice. It is a structured diligence tool. The questions are the questions an HR team should be able to ask in writing and receive in writing.
Request the questionnaire
Tell us where to send the AI Hiring Vendor Questionnaire. We respond personally within one business day — work email, please, and we will not add this address to a marketing list.
About Techné AI
Techné AI is an independent advisory practice on AI governance, regulatory compliance, and D&O liability — anchored in Illinois, working across California, New York, Colorado, and the European Union.
The AI Hiring Vendor Questionnaire is published in connection with the firm's TalentSight practice for HR, talent, and people leaders. For organizations that want a structured engagement to convert the vendor responses into a documented compliance posture, the firm offers the HB 3773 HR Workshop (half day, fixed fee) and the HB 3773 Employment AI Compliance Review (three to four weeks, fixed fee).