Artificial Intelligence

Labor Dept. outlines worker-centric approach to AI in new roadmap

The recommendations for both artificial intelligence software developers and deployers prioritize worker wellbeing and engagement.

Updated Digital Government

Benefits.gov to shutter in September

The Labor Department’s benefits-focused website dates back to 2002.

Digital Government

Jobless aid programs get a facelift under a bipartisan Senate proposal

The bill responds to asks from the oversight community, in addition to instituting requirements for states administering the funds.

Digital Government

Inside the Department of Labor’s collaboration with New Jersey to overhaul unemployment programs

A new application for unemployment claims in the Garden State marks the result of a years-long federal effort to help states modernize their jobless aid efforts.

Digital Government

Labor Department debuts website for migrant workers in 6 new languages

“Our mandate includes protecting the rights of all workers,” a department official told reporters this week.

Artificial Intelligence

White House, Labor look to protect workers from AI-fueled harms

The Labor Department put out new guidance to encourage employers and AI developers to consider worker empowerment amid AI technology deployment.

Policy

Lawmakers propose a new federal office to regulate workplace surveillance tech

The new bill from Reps. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., and Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., would also establish new employee rights and employer transparency rules around surveillance.

Digital Government

Labor Department experiments with AI in unemployment systems

The agency plans to use the current “calm” in unemployment claims to better prepare for the next storm.

Digital Government

Senators look to harden the unemployment system for the next crisis

The White House-backed framework for forthcoming unemployment insurance legislation will retool the way states go after fraud and allows for for oversight of federal investments in UI systems and technology.

Digital Government

Labor Department calls on states to reevaluate unemployment benefit accessibility

Access to unemployment has been declining and differs drastically across demographic groups. The Labor Department is urging states and territories to do something about it in new guidance.

Digital Government

Labor Department to use TMF to build a retirement ‘lost and found’

The registry will enable people to search for private employment retirement, group health and other welfare benefit plans that still owe them benefits.

Digital Government

The money's out the door in nationwide unemployment insurance modernization push

A Labor Department official said efforts to help states modernize their UI systems are trending in the right direction, but funding may be insufficient.

Digital Government

Hawaii’s wildfires led to fast tracking federal identity tools for unemployment claims 

Hawaii is the second state after Arkansas to employ Login.gov and U.S. Postal Service identity proofing options in its unemployment insurance system. 

Modernization

States need federal standards for tech used in unemployment programs, GAO says 

One of the senators that requested the new report from the Government Accountability Office — Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore. — is tinkering with potential legislation on unemployment modernization. 

Emerging Tech

Labor Dept. Watchdog Urges 'Extreme Caution' on Facial Recognition

Since the start of the pandemic and an upswing in fraudulent claims in the jobless aid systems, the use of facial recognition in identity checks has spread across states, raising OIG concerns about access and privacy.

Modernization

NLRB Looks to Modernize Its Legal Case Management System

The agency will use responses to a request for information to help form its acquisition strategy.

Digital Government

Labor Constructing a Virtual Data Enclave For Sensitive Microdata

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is aiming to use a new system to securely share workplace fatality and geographical data with researchers. 

Emerging Tech

Senators Call for Removal of Facial Recognition Tech in Unemployment Services

The lawmakers asked the Department of Labor to help state unemployment agencies remove facial recognition technology from application forms. 

Cybersecurity

Audit: Labor Department Information Security Program ‘Not Effective’

Auditors made 18 recommendations to remediate some of the agency’s longstanding issues.