AI Principles for Employers Coming Soon From Labor Department

The US Labor Department will soon release a set of principles to help employers mitigate the harms of artificial intelligence in the workplace, the latest piece of the administration’s efforts to ensure the technology is deployed responsibly.

The principles, set to be published Thursday according to a source familiar with the plan, are part of a tranche of instructions for businesses and DOL enforcement agencies that have been rolled out by the federal government in recent weeks as requested by President Joe Biden in an executive order last year.

Biden’s October EO on artificial intelligence specifically directed the DOL to consider job opportunities and displacement risks from AI when developing the guidelines, in addition to issues related to “equity, protected-activity, compensation,” and safety of AI in the workforce, and implications from AI-related workplace data collection.

The principles will be used as the basis for another “best practice” guidance document outlining examples of how employers can apply them.

The latest guidance comes after the DOL on April 29 issued an FAQ focused on federal contractors and their equal employment opportunity obligations when using artificial intelligence, and instructions to its Wage and Hour Division offices on how the Fair Labor Standards Act still applies when the technology is used for timekeeping or other purposes.