The EU Council and Parliament reached a provisional agreement delaying compliance deadlines for high-risk AI systems - including those used for candidate evaluation, employment decisions, and employee monitoring - from August 2026 to December 2, 2027 for standalone systems and August 2, 2028 for AI embedded in products. Transparency obligations still land December 2, 2026. Guidance on which systems actually qualify as high-risk under Article 6 and Annex III remains outstanding.

Checkr Takeaway: Employers and screening vendors with EU operations have more runway, but shouldn't treat the delay as a compliance pause. Transparency deadlines are unchanged, and scope ambiguity under Annex III means waiting for guidance before starting your assessment is a risk. Now is the time to audit AI-assisted hiring tools and begin building the required governance documentation.