Requires covered businesses to annually report to the department of labor regarding the impact of artificial intelligence on hiring and the nature of artificial intelligence use for the previous year; requires the department of labor to file an annual report on the impact of artificial intelligence on hiring and the nature of artificial intelligence use in the state; establishes penalties for covered business that fail to submit such reports.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9581B
SPONSOR: Bronson TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the labor law, in relation to requiring covered busi-
nesses to submit annual reports on the impact of artificial intelligence
on hiring and the nature of artificial intelligence use
PURPOSE:
To require large companies and publicly traded companies to report annu-
ally to the Department of Labor on the impact of artificial intelligence
(Al) on their hiring and business practices; and to require the Depart-
ment produce an annual report on the basis of such information.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one creates a new Labor Law section 201-j, including:
Subdivision 1: Defines "covered business,"
Subdivision 2: Sets out reporting requirements for covered businesses to
the Department of Labor, including that covered businesses shall
provide:
(a) employment data (such as hiring, layoffs, attrition, or work hour
changes) related to Al use.
(b) information on the nature of Al use (such as objectives, human over-
sight, and protections.)
Subdivision 3: Sets out responsibilities of the Department, including
that they shall develop standard reporting forms and procedures and may
develop additional reporting requirements related to Al use.
Subdivision 4: Requires the Department produce an annual report on the
basis of the information provided by covered businesses, including pres-
entation of aggregate data analyzed by employment sector, geographic
location, and business size.
Subdivision 5: Sets out penalties for failure to report by covered busi-
nesses. Section 2. Effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
The capabilities of Al have improved rapidly in recent years, promising
to fundamentally alter many industries in New York and across the world.
Improvements to generative Al, for example, which can generate texts,
images, and other products in response to text prompts, will reshape how
communications, marketing, graphic design, and countless other indus-
tries do business.
Data on Al's impact in the labor market is emerging, varied, and
complex. Some research suggests Al adoption was responsible for almost
55,000 layoffs in 2025, or almost 5% of all layoffs nationally,' while
others argue that Al will create jobs or allow workers to focus on more
productive tasks, There are also questions about the nature of Al job
replacement, such as whether it will lead directly to layoffs versus
discouraging future hiring through attrition, Finally, Al adoption and
labor market impact will vary by sector, and potentially hit certain
types of employment harder than others. The RAND Corporation recently
concluded, summarizing the literature generally, that "more data
collection is necessary" to understand the impact of Al on labor
markets,'
With this in mind, and given the rapid pace of Al development and
adoption, it is critical that New York investigate these questions in as
close to real time as possible. This bill does so by requiring large
companies and publicly traded companies to annually report to the
Department of Labor on the labor impact of Al use. This includes both
quantitative data (such as numbers of jobs lost, added, or not filled,)
and descriptive information (such as what forms of human oversight they
use and how they protect private data.) The Department is then directed
to report annually to the legislature and the public, using aggregate
data, on Al impacts by sector, business size, and geography.
Al development is a rapid, disruptive, and international trend, In addi-
tion to this bill there is similar pending legislation in Congress with
bipartisan support as of December, 2025.3 New York can and must be a
national leader in understanding the impact of Al on our labor market in
order to ensure worker protection, business sustainability, and informed
policymaking in this emerging sector.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately
1 https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/21/a-job-cuts-amazon-microsoft-and-more-
cite-ai-for-2025-layoffs.html
2 https://www.rand.orq/content/dam/rand/pubs/perspectives/PEA3800/
PEA3888-3/RAND_PEA3888-3.pdf
3 https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-warner-to-introduce-bipartisan-
legislation-revealing-number-of-jobs-lost-to-ai/
