Several pending bills in Congress—as well as some additional legislation expected in the United Kingdom and European Union—aim to regulate AI technology and provide a framework for future governance.

As most commentators surmise, this is only the ground level of the development of AI. AI will expand—both in scope and capability—so the laws governing these systems will change. For this reason, it is important for employers to not only understand the current legal landscape, but also to keep an eye on anticipated legal developments. This installment briefly explores some of these anticipated developments in the U.S. as well as the U.K. and the E.U. 

What to Expect – United States 

There is currently no federal law governing AI use in the workplace. But there are several pending bills in Congress that, if passed, would change that.   

Senate Bill 2419, titled the “No Robot Bosses Act,” initially proposed in the summer of 2023, is currently sitting in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions. An identical bill was introduced in the House of Representatives this past March and currently sits in several House committees for consideration.   

In current form, the “No Robot Bosses Act” would prohibit employers from relying exclusively on automated decision systems, including AI, in making employment decisions. Rather, employers would have to provide independent, human oversight of AI outputs before using the outputs as part of an employment decision. In addition, the law would require employers perform pre-deployment auditing of AI tools for bias, periodic bias testing of all AI tools in use, and mandate employee training on the proper use of AI. Finally, the bill would lead to the creation of the Technology and Worker Protection Division at the Department of Labor to regulate the use of automated decision-making systems in the workplace. 

Another pending bill at the federal level is the “Stop Spying Bosses Act,” S. 262.  Though the bill is more about regulating workplace surveillance and less about AI, the bill does contain a provision that states an employer is prohibited from “us(ing) an automated decision system to predict behavior of a covered individual that is unrelated to the work of the covered individual for the employer.” It is likely such a provision would be watered down or even eliminated as the bill progresses through committee, but it is worth watching as the plain text could invite broad interpretations that cover a range of AI systems.    

While it is difficult to predict whether the No Robot Bosses Act or the Stop Spying Bosses Act will ever become laws, particularly given the upcoming change in executive leadership, these laws are emblematic of legislative activity across the U.S. that will continue into 2025. 

Indeed, at the state level, a number of jurisdictions have pending laws aimed to limit the use of AI and require employers to follow stringent notice, audit, and recordkeeping requirements.  For example, in Illinois, HB 5116, introduced in February 2024, seeks to require employers perform mandatory impact assessment audits for automated decision tools. And in Massachusetts, the proposed “Preventing a Dystopian Work Environment” bill (H.1873) likewise requires impact assessments and would require employers to submit a list to the state department of labor of all AI tools in use. 

Employers should expect to see continued development at the state and local legislative levels into 2025 and beyond. 

What to Expect – European Union and the United Kingdom 

There will likely be draft legislation in the U.K. on the regulation of AI over the next year. The new government has made it clear that it will seek to establish legislation to regulate the development of AI, although no specific legislation has been seen as at the date of writing. This deviates from the approach proposed by the previous government, which took a non-binding approach to regulating the development and use of AI, choosing to adopt a more “principle-based” approach.  

Interestingly, back in 2023, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) launched an AI taskforce and published the AI (Employment and Regulation) Bill, legislation specific to AI in the workplace. The proposed Bill has since been dropped, but it is indicative of what we may see emerge during 2025 in the U.K.  

In the EU, the EU AI Act is already in force and some of the obligations will become applicable in the coming year, including those regarding prohibited AI systems and AI literacy, which will become applicable on Feb. 2, 2025. Specific obligations for general-purpose AI models will also become applicable on Aug. 2, 2025. Most other obligations under the AI Act, including the rules applicable to high-risk AI systems and systems subject to specific transparency requirements will become applicable on Aug. 2, 2026. The remaining provisions will become applicable on Aug. 2, 2027. 

The EU AI Act requires that the various EU authorities (the European Commission, the AI Office, and the AI Board) issue guidance and other documentation, and this future guidance will be helpful to organizations assessing their compliance under the Act.  In a similar vein, data protection authorities across the EU and the U.K. ICO will likely continue to issue guidance on the use of AI. On Nov. 6, 2024, the U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) published a report following consensual audit engagements conducted between August 2023 and May 2024 with developers and providers of AI-powered sourcing, screening, and selection tools used in recruitment. The report covers the outcomes of the audits and contains a series of recommendations for recruiters –and for developers and providers of recruitment AI tools—that aim to better protect the data privacy rights of candidates. The report details how the audits identified good practices in several areas, but also reveals areas that could be improved, such as a lack of accuracy testing and unnecessary collection of personal data.  

More sector-specific guidance from regulators in particular sectors like financial services is also expected, as AI is being used extensively.

---

Originally published by HRO Today. Reproduced with permission. Further duplication is prohibited.