On May 16, 2024, the Department of Labor announced a comprehensive set of guidelines to help employers and developers create and use artificial intelligence. These principles aim to improve job quality and safeguard workers’ rights.
Developed as a result of President Biden’s Executive Order on the Safe, Secure and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence, this initiative underscores the administration’s commitment to ensuring AI technologies strengthen worker empowerment and well-being while addressing risks to workers.
Specifically, the AI principles emphasize ethical development; transparency in its use; meaningful worker engagement in system design, use, governance and oversight; protection of workers’ rights; and use of AI to enhance work.
- Centering Worker Empowerment: Workers and their representatives, especially those from underserved communities, should be informed of and have genuine input in the design, development, testing, training, use, and oversight of AI systems for use in the workplace.
- Ethically Developing AI: AI systems should be designed, developed, and trained in a way that protects workers.
- Establishing AI Governance and Human Oversight: Organizations should have clear governance systems, procedures, human oversight, and evaluation processes for AI systems for use in the workplace.
- Ensuring Transparency in AI Use: Employers should be transparent with workers and job seekers about the AI systems that are being used in the workplace.
- Protecting Labor and Employment Rights: AI systems should not violate or undermine workers’ right to organize, health and safety rights, wage and hour rights, and anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation protections.
- Using AI to Enable Workers: AI systems should assist, complement, and enable workers, and improve job quality.
- Supporting Workers Impacted by AI: Employers should support or upskill workers during job transitions related to AI.
- Ensuring Responsible Use of Worker Data: Workers’ data collected, used, or created by AI systems should be limited in scope and location, used only to support legitimate business aims, and protected and handled responsibly.
These principles serve as a guiding framework rather than an exhaustive list for businesses. Employers are encouraged to adapt these best practices to their specific situations, incorporating feedback from workers. Guidance was also released from the OFCCP.
ASE Connect
ASE has curated an AI Toolkit to help you be compliant in your use of AI in HR and to guide your employees on safe and secure AI usage. Resources available include 2024 AI Survey Report, Sample AI Policy, AI Prep Guide, AI HR Gap Analysis Tool, and Articles & Blogs. Access it here.
By Heather Nezich, courtesy of SBAM-approved partner, ASE.
Click here for more News & Resources.