Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, SENATE NEWS—Bipartisan legislation seeks to collect data to be used in developing responses to AI’s impact on U.S. workforce, (May 5, 2026)

By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

Senators Warner and Budd introduced the Workforce Transparency Act last week, which “would create a framework to allow for evidence-based policymaking based on secure, trusted, and protected data sharing.”

U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Ted Budd (R-NC) last week introduced the “Workforce Transparency Act,” under which the Labor Department would collect data on AI usage from the public and private sector and make that data publicly available so that researchers, businesses, and local, state, and federal government can use it to better understand how AI is driving changes in employment. It would “create a framework to allow for evidence-based policymaking based on secure, trusted, and protected data sharing.”

Senate Bill 4476 would establish an elective process under which participants could submit “aggregated workforce transparency data that includes task or activity level use of AI, geographic distribution of AI uses and users, changes in AI usage patterns over time, and more.” They would be instructed to de-identify, anonymize, and aggregate data and DOL and Bureau of Labor Statistics would work with the Census Bureau to establish a process to collect and make available that aggregated workforce transparency data.

“As AI is being developed, deployed, and integrated across industries, we’re already seeing it have a measurable effect on the U.S. workforce, and we know that its impact is only going to grow,” said Warner. “It’s critical that everyone has access to accurate and timely information that can prepare them for a changing labor market.”

“As we adopt AI technologies that will enhance Americans’ capabilities in the workplace, policymakers must ensure that we are equipped with real-time data that informs us on how novel technologies are changing employee behavior. I am proud to join Senator Warner to help establish a channel that shares new data around the expansion of productivity we are seeing as a result of innovation,” said Budd.

This legislation is supported by Anthropic, the Alliance for Secure AI, the Business Software Alliance, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, SCSP Action Program, SeedAI, and others.

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