{"id":497640,"date":"2025-10-14T02:15:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T02:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/497640\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T02:15:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T02:15:11","slug":"update-on-the-state-of-ai-regulation-in-the-employment-context-followingpresident-trumps-july-23-2025-ai-action-plan-and-executive-orders-pullman-comley-labor-employment-and-employee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/497640\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on the State of AI Regulation in the Employment Context Following\nPresident Trump\u2019s July 23, 2025 AI Action Plan and Executive Orders | Pullman & Comley – Labor, Employment and Employee Benefits Law"},"content":{"rendered":"

In April 2025, my colleague Russ Anderson and I published an article<\/a> discussing the potential risks associated with human resources (HR) departments using artificial intelligence (AI) to assist with the hiring process and to measure employee performance.\u00a0 In that article, we touched on the developing body of laws dedicated to protecting employees and candidates from the effects of AI in the workplace.\u00a0 Many of those laws aim to prevent algorithmic discrimination against employees or candidates, and some of them, such as the Colorado Artificial Intelligence Act (CAIA), require companies to use reasonable care to prevent algorithmic discrimination.\u00a0 Since we published that article, the Trump administration announced three executive orders and an AI action plan that will likely alter existing and future AI regulation in the United States.<\/p>\n

On July 23, 2025, the Trump administration released \u201cAmerica\u2019s AI Action Plan\u201d and President Trump signed three executive orders geared towards advancing the three core pillars outlined in that Action Plan: accelerating AI innovation, building American AI infrastructure, and leading in international AI diplomacy and security.\u00a0 In accordance with those outlined goals, Executive Order 14179<\/a>, a January 23, 2025 executive order referenced in the introduction of the Action Plan, calls for the revocation of \u201ccertain existing AI policies and directives that act as barriers to American AI innovation.\u201d \u00a0And although the proposed 10-year moratorium on state and local AI regulations introduced in a draft of the \u201cBig Beautiful Bill Act\u201d earlier this year was not included in the final version of that bill, the July 23, 2025 Action Plan targets state-level AI regulations in a few notable ways.\u00a0<\/p>\n

First, while stating that the federal government should not interfere with states\u2019 rights to pass laws that are not \u201cunduly restrictive to innovation,\u201d the Action Plan declares that the federal government \u201cshould not allow AI-related Federal funding to be directed toward states with burdensome AI regulations.\u201d\u00a0 Relatedly, the Action Plan also directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to work with federal agencies that have AI-related discretionary funding programs to ensure that those agencies consider a state\u2019s AI regulatory climate when making funding decisions, and \u201climit funding if the state\u2019s AI regulatory regimes may hinder the effectiveness of that funding or award.\u201d \u00a0The Action Plan also directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to \u201cevaluate whether state AI regulations interfere with the agency\u2019s ability to carry out its obligations and authorities under the Communications Act of 1934.\u201d \u00a0Notably, the Action Plan also stresses the development of AI systems that are \u201cfree from ideological bias or engineered social agendas,\u201d and recommends revising the framework developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology<\/a> (NIST) to eliminate references to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

As noted in our April 2025 article, Colorado\u2019s CAIA created a presumption of reasonable care for an employer using AI in hiring that can demonstrate that it has established a risk management program consistent with recognized standards in the framework developed by NIST.\u00a0 Therefore, revising the NIST framework to eliminate all references to DEI may change the acceptable risk management procedures under the framework, and thus, the acceptable risk management procedures for companies using that framework.\u00a0 For example, one of the functions of AI risk management \u2013 as outlined in the NIST framework \u2013 is to ensure that \u201c[w]orkforce diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility processes are prioritized in the mapping, measuring, and managing of AI risks throughout the lifecycle.\u201d\u00a0 If DEI is removed from the NIST\u2019s framework, would companies no longer be required to ensure that workforce DEI is prioritized in the mapping, measuring, and managing of AI risks? Perhaps, but an alternative outcome is that states like Colorado could remove the soon-to-be-revised NIST as an acceptable framework and require companies using AI to make personnel decisions to adopt frameworks that require consideration of workforce diversity as part of their risk management procedures in order to be entitled to a presumption of reasonable care under the state\u2019s AI law.\u00a0 In that scenario, federal agencies might then limit or eliminate earmarked federal funding to such states as suggested in the Action Plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As of today, it is too early to evaluate the impact of the July 23, 2025 Action Plan and corresponding executive orders on state and federal AI regulation.\u00a0 However, employers using AI to assist in personnel decisions should continue to closely monitor developments in AI regulation, especially in the states where they operate or have employees, to ensure compliance with applicable federal and state law.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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