Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

In 2025, the New York Department of Labor updated the state’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act system, asking businesses to disclose whether layoffs are related to artificial intelligence (AI). In the year since the change took effect, no business has reported AI as a reason for layoffs. This result points to one of two conclusions: either AI is not contributing to mass layoffs in New York, or AI is contributing to layoffs and businesses are not reporting it.

AI-Related Disclosure Added to New York’s WARN Act System

In January 2025, Governor Hochul directed the New York Department of Labor (NYS DOL) to gather additional data from employers that submit WARN notices. Specifically, when filing WARN notices, employers are now asked whether “technological innovation or automation” contributed to the reported layoffs. Employers report this by simply marking a checkbox on the form. If the box is checked, the employer is asked to name the technology responsible. The NYS DOL added the new AI-related disclosure to the system in March 2025.

One-Year Review

A little more than a year has passed since the NYS DOL implemented the change. Even though more than 160 different companies have filed WARN notices with the NYS DOL, not a single notice has attributed layoffs to AI technology or automation.

One conclusion to draw from the employers’ filed notices is that although businesses are increasingly adopting AI technology, mass layoffs may still be the result of factors unrelated to AI. In the filed notices, employers provide reasons such as economic circumstances, contract termination, bankruptcy, sale of the business or relocation. AI may have a growing presence in the workplace, but it may not yet be replacing human workers or causing the reduction of jobs.

Alternatively, the lack of AI disclosure in employers’ filed notices may reveal the limitations of the current reporting system. As the statutory language of New York’s WARN Act was not amended to reflect the request for AI-related disclosure, employers lack guidance and may question if the disclosure is optional or mandatory. Employers also may lack clarity on how “technological innovation or automation” is defined and conclude their AI-use does not fall within the category. Additionally, employers may question whether the system is asking if AI is a contributing factor in the layoffs or the sole reason for the layoffs.

Proposed Legislation to Watch

Earlier this year, the state legislature introduced two bills that could expand reporting of AI-related job loss.

• Assembly Bill A9581A

This proposed legislation requires certain businesses, those doing business in the state of New York and either (1) employ more than one hundred people or (2) is a publicly traded entity, to submit annual reports to the NYS DOL regarding the impact of AI on hiring, workforce reductions or gains, and positions left unfilled. Additionally, the reporting would require disclosure of human oversight of AI, frequency of AI use, and protections for sensitive data when using AI.

• Assembly Bill A9533A

This proposed legislation, known as the "automation displacement protection act," would require certain employers, defined as any business enterprise that employs fifty or more full-time employees in the state of New York, to provide notice before employees are affected by a “technological displacement.” A technological displacement is defined as the “elimination of employment positions, or a reduction in hours equivalent to twenty-five percent or more of total workforce time, within any twelve-month period, caused in whole or in substantial part by the introduction or expanded use of an artificial intelligence system or other automated technology.” Employers must send the notice to all affected employees and any employee organization representing them, the commissioner, the chief elected official of each locality where the affected facility is located, and the local workforce development board. Additionally, the bill requires employers’ notices to describe the tasks and duties that will be automated and to identify the vendor or contractor supplying the AI system. Affected employees will have a ninety-day transition period with (1) continued employment or equivalent wages, or (2) participation in a retraining or reskilling program.

Employers that do not comply may lose eligibility for state grants, loans or tax incentives for five years following a violation. Additionally, employers may be liable to employees for back pay and benefits and face civil penalties up to $10,000 per day for willful violations.

New York employers should consult regularly with legal counsel to ensure compliance with current state and local laws and plan for compliance with the potential new bills.  It is equally important for multistate employers to remain aware of nationwide trends in this legislation.  While New York has pioneered many of the AI-related regulations, an increasing number of states and local governments are following suit.