Skip to content

Verification & Testing: Control 2.11 - Bias Testing and Fairness Assessment

Last Updated: January 2026

ECOA Protected Classes Reference

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B prohibit discrimination based on the following 9 protected classes. All bias testing must evaluate agent outputs across these categories:

# Protected Class ECOA Citation Testing Considerations
1 Race 15 U.S.C. § 1691(a)(1) Include all racial categories per Census definitions
2 Color 15 U.S.C. § 1691(a)(1) Distinct from race; test skin tone proxies
3 Religion 15 U.S.C. § 1691(a)(1) Include major religions and non-religious
4 National Origin 15 U.S.C. § 1691(a)(1) Include country of birth, ancestry, ethnicity
5 Sex 15 U.S.C. § 1691(a)(1) Include gender identity per recent guidance
6 Marital Status 15 U.S.C. § 1691(a)(1) Single, married, divorced, widowed, separated
7 Age 15 U.S.C. § 1691(a)(1) Protect applicants who can legally contract
8 Public Assistance 15 U.S.C. § 1691(a)(2) Recipients of public assistance income
9 Good Faith Exercise of Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) Rights 15 U.S.C. § 1691(a)(3) Applicants who exercised consumer rights

Note: State laws may add additional protected classes (e.g., sexual orientation, gender identity, military status). Consult legal counsel for your jurisdiction.

Quarterly Testing Requirements

For Zone 3 agents making or influencing credit/lending decisions, conduct quarterly bias assessments:

Quarterly Testing Checklist

Quarter Due Date Activities Owner
Q1 March 31 Full bias assessment across all 9 classes AI Governance Lead
Q2 June 30 Statistical parity review + remediation follow-up Compliance Officer
Q3 September 30 Full bias assessment + annual trend analysis AI Governance Lead
Q4 December 31 Statistical parity review + annual summary report Compliance Officer

Minimum Sample Sizes per Protected Class

Class Category Minimum n per Group Statistical Test
Binary (e.g., sex) 100 Chi-square, Fisher's exact
Multi-category (e.g., race) 50 per category ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis
Continuous (e.g., age) 200 total Regression analysis

Manual Verification Steps

Test 1: Verify Protected Classes Documented

  1. Request protected class documentation
  2. Verify all 9 ECOA classes are included
  3. Verify any additional state-specific classes
  4. EXPECTED: All 9 ECOA classes + applicable state classes documented

Test 2: Verify Test Dataset

  1. Review test dataset composition
  2. Verify demographic representation across all 9 protected classes
  3. Verify minimum sample sizes per group (see table above)
  4. EXPECTED: Balanced dataset with minimum counts per group

Test 3: Review Bias Testing Results

  1. Request most recent quarterly bias testing report
  2. Review fairness metrics: demographic parity, equalized odds
  3. Verify statistical significance testing was performed
  4. EXPECTED: Report with statistical analysis for each protected class

Test 4: Verify Remediation Process

  1. Check for any identified bias issues
  2. Verify remediation plans exist with specific actions
  3. Verify remediation timeline (max 90 days for material issues)
  4. EXPECTED: Issues tracked with remediation timeline and owner

Test 5: Verify Quarterly Cadence (Zone 3)

  1. Request testing schedule documentation
  2. Verify quarterly assessments are scheduled
  3. Review last 4 quarters of testing evidence
  4. EXPECTED: Consistent quarterly testing with documented results

Test Cases

Test ID Scenario Expected Result Pass/Fail
TC-2.11-01 Protected classes documented ECOA alignment
TC-2.11-02 Test dataset representative Balanced groups
TC-2.11-03 Demographic parity Within ±5%
TC-2.11-04 Equalized odds Within ±5%
TC-2.11-05 Remediation tracked Plans documented

Evidence Collection Checklist

  • Document: Protected class definitions
  • Document: Test dataset methodology
  • Export: Bias testing results (CSV)
  • Document: Fairness metrics report
  • Document: Remediation plan (if issues found)

Attestation Statement Template

## Control 2.11 Attestation - Bias Testing

**Organization:** [Organization Name]
**Control Owner:** [Name/Role]
**Date:** [Date]

I attest that:

1. Protected classes are documented per ECOA requirements
2. Test dataset includes representative demographic distribution:
   - Total test cases: [Count]
   - Groups tested: [Count]
3. Bias testing was executed with the following results:
   - Demographic Parity: [Pass/Fail]
   - Equalized Odds: [Pass/Fail]
   - Issues Identified: [Count]
4. Remediation plans exist for identified bias issues
   - SLA: [Days]
   - Status: [In progress/Complete]

**Last Test Date:** [Date]
**Next Scheduled Test:** [Date]

**Signature:** _______________________
**Date:** _______________________

Back to Control 2.11 | Portal Walkthrough | PowerShell Setup | Troubleshooting