The No Robot Bosses Act would protect and empower workers by preventing employers from relying exclusively on artificial intelligence or bots to make employment decisions
Legislation responds to increasing reports of workers being fired by automated decision systems, discriminated against in hiring
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) introduced legislation to protect job applicants and workers from employers using automated decision systems to make employment decisions, including hiring, disciplinary actions, and firing. The No Robot Bosses Act would safeguard workers’ rights, autonomy, and dignity in the workplace from discriminatory decisions and dangerous working conditions being set by algorithms.
“Right now, there is nothing stopping a corporation from using artificial intelligence to hire, manage, or even fire workers without the involvement of a human being,” Senator Casey said. “As robot bosses become more prevalent in the workplace, we have an obligation to protect working families from the dangers of employers misusing and abusing these novel technologies.”
Alongside the No Robot Bosses Act, Senators Casey, Schatz, and Cory Booker (D-NJ) also introduced the Exploitative Workplace Surveillance and Technologies Task Force Act to establish an interagency task force to study and report on workplace surveillance. These bills continue a series of initiatives to safeguard workers from ever-changing, invasive, and potentially exploitative technologies. In February 2023, Casey, Booker, and Schatz introduced the Stop Spying Bosses Act to protect workers against invasive and exploitative surveillance technologies, including data collection that interferes with union organizing. The bill would also create a new Technology and Worker Protection Division at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to enforce and regulate workplace surveillance, including novel and emerging technologies. Senator Casey previously urged the Department of Labor to track invasive and exploitative surveillance technologies in an August 2022 letter, and pressed President Biden to create a White House task force to examine the expansive use of these technologies in workplaces in December 2022.
In addition to Senators Casey and Schatz, the No Robot Bosses Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators John Fetterman (D-PA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and supported by the AFL-CIO, the Communications Workers of America, the National Employment Law Project, and the Economic Policy Institute.
In addition to Senators Casey, Schatz, and Booker, the Exploitative Workplace Surveillance and Technologies Task Force Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) and supported by the AFL-CIO, the Communications Workers of America, the National Employment Law Project, and the Economic Policy Institute.
Read more about the No Robot Bosses Act HERE.
Read more about the Exploitative Workplace Surveillance and Technologies Task Force Act HERE.
