ROCHESTER, NY – New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey joined Assembly Labor Chair Harry B. Bronson and labor leaders in Rochester to call on Governor Kathy Hochul to sign the AI Labor Information Act, first-in-the-nation legislation that will require private employers to report how AI is affecting the state’s workforce and business practices.

Sponsored by Hinchey and Bronson, the bill passed the State Legislature during the 2026 session. Labor leaders from the AFL-CIO, Communications Workers of America (CWA), and Teamsters are joining Hinchey and Bronson in urging Hochul to sign the bill. The coalition says New York should not wait for technological disruption to leave workers behind. By requiring transparency now, the state can better prepare workers for changes already underway and ensure that the benefits of AI do not come at the expense of economic security. 

To enact meaningful protections, it is essential that New York has a sound examination of the capabilities and roles of the AI landscape and understands the intersection between productive advancements and job replacement. This legislation will create a recurring dataset that shows how AI is impacting employment across industries and regions - information that will be critical for informing next steps and creating just practices that include targeted education, retraining and upskilling, and workforce development. To collect this information, the AI Labor Information Act will require publicly traded corporations and businesses with more than 50 employees doing business in New York to report annually to the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) on their use of AI and its impact on workers. 

Required employment data must include: 
* Information on the number of employees displaced because of AI
* Employee hours reduced because of AI
* New jobs created and employee hours increased because of AI
* Positions eliminated because businesses chose not to refill them due to AI 
* Business objectives behind AI implementation, human oversight of AI systems, and its use involving sensitive personal data, as well as measures in place to reduce and manage AI-related risks

The Department of Labor will use this information to aggregate and publish an annual report, shared with the legislature, analyzing AI’s impacts by employment sector, geographic region, and business size. The resulting data will provide a clearer picture of where and how AI is displacing workers, where it is creating opportunities, and where New York should invest in training and economic development. 

Senator Michelle Hinchey said, “If we let the rapid corporate expansion of AI continue unchecked, we risk a future where the first two-thirds of our career pipeline, across sectors, is eliminated with no path back to economic stability. Our bill, the AI Labor Information Act, is a starting point for New York to take control of our future. When this bill is signed, we will be the first state in the country to have recurring data to understand how AI is changing both the labor market and large industries overall, so that we can protect working people and stabilize our economy before it's too late. I'm grateful to Assemblymember Bronson for his partnership in getting our bill passed through the Legislature with bipartisan support this session, along with our partners in Labor who played an instrumental role. We hope the Governor recognizes the importance of signing this bill so that New York can stand up for working people and fight for a fair economy where the benefits of innovation are shared by all.”

Assemblymember Harry Bronson said, “As AI becomes increasingly prevalent in our workforce, it is imperative that New York take proactive steps to learn about these practices and support our workers and families to ensure we are creating new workforce pathways and opportunities that ensure they can make ends meet, participate in the economy and have a meaningful transition to a new career. I am proud to stand with Senator Hinchey and a robust coalition of labor leaders to urge Governor Hochul to sign our AI Labor Information Act. This first-in-the-nation legislation will create accountability measures for big business and big tech around AI use, helping us explore and formulate ways New York State can foster innovation through AI while ensuring effective safeguards are in place for the benefit of our workers and industries. New York has a proud record of standing for human rights and dignity – we must show leadership here by standing up to predatory corporate practices that could harm our workers and communities.” 

Dan Maloney, President of the Rochester-Genesee Valley Area Labor Federation, said, "The legislation Assemblymember Bronson and Senator Hinchey have championed will act as a break wall against the AI tsunami coming at us. This commonsense legislation requires employers to report annually on the human cost, in lost jobs and reduced hours, that AI technology will inflict on workers and in what occupations and sectors. This critical data will be used to help properly retrain displaced workers into areas of new employment to keep New York’s economy moving forward."

The need for this legislation is clear. Major employers are increasingly citing AI as a factor in layoffs and changes to hiring, while young workers face a sharply weaker entry-level labor market. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reports unemployment among recent college graduates has elevated to 5.6% in the second quarter of 2026, while the number of entry-level positions has decreased as many companies increasingly rely on AI to perform tasks once assigned to junior employees. A report released last year from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan Center found that AI already has the capabilities to replace an estimated 11.7% of the U.S. labor market, affecting more than $1.2 trillion dollars in wages. Data also suggests AI led to almost 55,000 layoffs last year.

With AI rapidly changing how businesses hire, manage, perform tasks, and deploy workers, it is necessary to have a clearer understanding of the landscape. The AI Labor Information Act, sponsored by Senator Hinchey and Assemblymember Bronson, and championed by labor leaders and workforce development experts, would give New York the tools to understand and prepare for the changing labor market. The bill awaits the Governor’s signature.  

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