New bill presented in Senate would require American companies to report AI layoffs

US Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) have proposed a new law requiring companies to report job cuts linked to artificial intelligence (AI). This legislation which was brought to the Senate this week, would mandate major American companies and federal agencies to report AI-related employment data to the US Department of Labor (DOL), which would then make the information public. In a blog post, Hawley wrote that the “AI-Related Jobs Impact Clarity Act” would "require major companies and federal agencies to quarterly report AI-related job effects, including layoffs and job displacement, to the DOL,” which will then “compile data on AI-related job effects and publish a report to Congress and the public."

The bill, referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, currently requires only publicly traded companies to report the data to DOL. However, it also includes a provision directing officials to determine how privately held companies could be brought under the same reporting rules, suggesting they may eventually be subject to similar requirements.

What the US Senators said about the new AI law

Commenting on the proposed AI legislation, Hawley said: “Artificial intelligence is already replacing American workers, and experts project AI could drive unemployment up to 10-20% in the next five years. The American people need to have an accurate understanding of how AI is affecting our workforce, so we can ensure that AI works for the people, not the other way around.”

“Good policy starts with good data. This bipartisan legislation will finally give us a clear picture of AI’s impact on the workforce – what jobs are being eliminated, which workers are being retrained, and where new opportunities are emerging. Armed with this information, we can make sure AI drives opportunity instead of leaving workers behind,” Warner added.

According to a report by Axios, Hawley and Warner referenced Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s warning that AI could eliminate up to half of all entry-level white-collar jobs and raise unemployment to 10–20% within five years, along with other forecasts about AI’s impact on the workplace, as motivation for their proposed bill.

The bipartisan legislation reflects growing concern in Congress about AI's impact on American jobs, even as the Trump administration promotes the technology as essential to maintaining US economic competitiveness.

As AI and automation drive significant job cuts, layoffs have surged in 2025, especially in warehousing and technology. According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, US employers cut 153,074 jobs in October, which is a 175% year-over-year and 183% month-on-month increase. The analysts said this was the highest October total in more than two decades, linking the trend to disruptive technologies like AI.

Meanwhile, Revealera hiring trends researcher Henley Wing Chiu reported an 8% decline in global job postings, with creative roles such as computer graphics, photography, and writing down over 28%. At the same time, demand for machine learning engineers continued to rise.

Apart from this, Warner and Hawley have recently introduced another bill to ban AI chatbots for children. These lawmakers are seeking more data on how AI is affecting employment as companies increasingly cite the technology as a factor behind widespread job cuts.