WHAT THIS BILL REGULATES · 2 REQUIREMENT TYPES
How Is This Bill Enforced
Verbatim statutory text on the left; plain-language analysis and a per-section checklist on the right. Numbered markers cross-link to the matching checklist row.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the "New York workforce stabilization act".
This section establishes the short title of the act as the "New York Workforce Stabilization Act." It creates no compliance obligation.
(1) 1 No employerEmployer"Employer" means a business that: (i) is resident in the state, (ii) is not a small business, and (iii) employs more than one hundred people.Labor Law § 201-j(3)(a) shall utilize or apply any artificial intelligence unless the employerEmployer"Employer" means a business that: (i) is resident in the state, (ii) is not a small business, and (iii) employs more than one hundred people.Labor Law § 201-j(3)(a), or an entity acting on behalf of such employerEmployer"Employer" means a business that: (i) is resident in the state, (ii) is not a small business, and (iii) employs more than one hundred people.Labor Law § 201-j(3)(a), shall have conducted an impact assessment for the application and use of such artificial intelligence. Following the first impact assessment, an impact assessment shall be conducted at least once every two years. An impact assessment shall be conducted prior to any material change to the artificial intelligence that may change the outcome or effect of such system. Such impact assessments shall include: (a) a description of the objectives of the artificial intelligence; (b) an evaluation of the ability of the artificial intelligence to achieve its stated objectives; (c) a description and evaluation of the objectives and development of the artificial intelligence including: (i) a summary of the underlying algorithms, computational modes, and tools that are used within the artificial intelligence; and (ii) the design and training data used to develop the artificial intelligence process; (d) the extent to which the deployment and use of the artificial intelligence requires input of sensitive and personal data, how that data is used and stored, and any control users may have over their data; (e) an estimate of the number of employees already displaced due to artificial intelligence; and (f) an estimate of the number of employees expected to be displaced or otherwise affected due to the increased use of artificial intelligence in the workplace.
(2) 2 Any impact assessment conducted pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted to the department at least thirty days prior to the implementation of the artificial intelligence that is the subject of such assessment.
(3)(a)–(b) "EmployerEmployer"Employer" means a business that: (i) is resident in the state, (ii) is not a small business, and (iii) employs more than one hundred people.Labor Law § 201-j(3)(a)" means a business that: (i) is resident in the state, (ii) is not a small businessSmall business"Small business" means a business that: (i) is resident in the state, (ii) is independently owned and operated, (iii) is not dominant in its field, and (iv) employs one hundred or less people.Labor Law § 201-j(3)(b), and (iii) employs more than one hundred people. (b) "Small businessSmall business"Small business" means a business that: (i) is resident in the state, (ii) is independently owned and operated, (iii) is not dominant in its field, and (iv) employs one hundred or less people.Labor Law § 201-j(3)(b)" means a business that: (i) is resident in the state, (ii) is independently owned and operated, (iii) is not dominant in its field, and (iv) employs one hundred or less people.
This section creates a mandatory pre-deployment AI impact assessment regime for larger New York employers. An employer — defined as a New York-resident business with more than 100 employees that does not qualify as a small business — may not utilize or apply any artificial intelligence without first conducting an impact assessment. The assessment must cover the AI system's objectives, its ability to achieve those objectives, a technical description of underlying algorithms and training data, the extent of sensitive and personal data use, and crucially, both retrospective and prospective estimates of employee displacement.
The assessment must be submitted to the Department of Labor at least 30 days before AI implementation. Reassessments are required at least every two years and before any material change that may alter the system's outcome or effect. The bill does not define "artificial intelligence," leaving the term to its ordinary meaning, and does not specify penalties for non-compliance with the assessment requirement beyond the Department of Labor's general enforcement authority.
(1)(a) 3 A surcharge on corporations that terminate the employment or substantially reduce the hours of fifteen or more employees due to any system or process that uses algorithms, computational models, artificial intelligence techniques, robotic hardware, or a combination thereof, to automate, support, or replace human labor is imposed at the rate of two percent of the corporation's business income base.
(1)(b) 4 The surcharge shall be reported and paid to the commissioner no less frequently than on an annual basis. The payments shall be accompanied by a return in the form and containing the information the commissioner may prescribe.
(1)(c) The commissioner, in consultation with the department of labor, may waive the surcharge set forth by paragraph (a) of this subdivision for an eligible corporation. The commissioner, in consultation with the department of labor, shall establish a process whereby eligible corporations may apply to have the surcharge waived. For the purposes of this section, an eligible corporation shall be: (i) A business that is found by the department of labor to be experiencing or anticipating a labor shortage; (ii) A business that demonstrates that it requires the use of algorithms, computational models, artificial intelligence techniques, robotic hardware, or a combination thereof, to protect or improve the production of agricultural commodities within the state; or (iii) A small businessSmall business"Small business" means a business that: (i) is resident in the state, (ii) is independently owned and operated, (iii) is not dominant in its field, and (iv) employs one hundred or less people.Labor Law § 201-j(3)(b), as defined by section one hundred thirty-one of the economic development law, that demonstrates that it requires the use of algorithms, computational models, artificial intelligence techniques, robotic hardware, or a combination thereof, to remain economically viable.
(1)(d) 5 The department of labor shall annually report to the legislature on the number of waivers that it has granted pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subdivision, in the preceding year and the justification for why each waiver was granted. Such report shall be sent to the temporary president of the senate, the minority leader of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, and the minority leader of the assembly and shall be made available to the public on the website of the department.
This section imposes a 2% surcharge on the business income base of any corporation that terminates or substantially reduces the hours of 15 or more employees due to AI-driven automation — defined broadly to include algorithms, computational models, artificial intelligence techniques, robotic hardware, or any combination thereof. The surcharge is reported and paid annually to the Commissioner of Taxation and Finance.
The Commissioner, in consultation with the Department of Labor, may waive the surcharge for eligible corporations: those experiencing or anticipating a labor shortage, agricultural producers requiring AI to protect or improve production, and small businesses that demonstrate AI is needed to remain economically viable. The Department of Labor must annually report to the legislature on all waivers granted and the justification for each, with the report made publicly available.
(2)(a) 6 A surcharge on corporations that use artificial intelligence for data miningData miningFor the purposes of this subdivision, the term "data mining" shall mean a process involving pattern-based queries, searches, or other analyses of one or more electronic databases.Tax Law § 186-h(2)(a) is imposed at the rate of two percent of the corporation's business income base. For the purposes of this subdivision, the term "data miningData miningFor the purposes of this subdivision, the term "data mining" shall mean a process involving pattern-based queries, searches, or other analyses of one or more electronic databases.Tax Law § 186-h(2)(a)" shall mean a process involving pattern-based queries, searches, or other analyses of one or more electronic databases.
(2)(b) 7 The surcharge shall be reported and paid to the commissioner no less frequently than on an annual basis. Surcharge payments shall be accompanied by a return in the form and containing the information the commissioner may prescribe.
This section imposes a separate 2% surcharge on the business income base of any corporation that uses artificial intelligence for data mining, defined as a process involving pattern-based queries, searches, or other analyses of one or more electronic databases. The definition of data mining is remarkably broad — it could encompass virtually any database query or search operation conducted using AI, from standard business analytics to sophisticated machine learning pipelines. The surcharge is reported and paid annually.
(3)(a)–(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the surcharges imposed under this section shall be administered and collected by the commissioner in a like manner as the taxes imposed by article twenty-eight of this chapter. All the provisions of article twenty-eight of this chapter, including the provisions relating to definitions, exemptions, returns, personal liability for the tax, collection of tax from the customer, payment of tax, and the administration of the taxes imposed by such article, shall apply to the surcharges imposed under the authority of this section so far as those provisions can be made applicable to the surcharges imposed by this section, with such modifications as may be necessary in order to adapt the language of those provisions to the surcharges imposed by this section. Those provisions shall apply with the same force and effect as if the language of those provisions had been set forth in full in this section, except to the extent that any of those provisions is either inconsistent with a provision of this section or is not relevant to the surcharge imposed by this section. For purposes of this section, any reference in this chapter to a tax or the taxes imposed by article twenty-eight of this chapter shall be deemed also to refer to the surcharges imposed by this section unless a different meaning is clearly required. (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subdivision: (1) the exemptions provided for in section eleven hundred sixteen of this chapter, other than the exemptions in paragraphs one, two and three of subdivision (a) of such section, shall not apply to the surcharges imposed by this section. (2) the credit provided in subdivision (f) of section eleven hundred thirty-seven of this chapter shall not apply to this section.
This section incorporates by reference the administration and collection provisions of Article 28 of the New York Tax Law (the state sales and use tax article) to govern the surcharges imposed under this section. It provides that the definitions, exemptions, return requirements, personal liability, collection, payment, and administration provisions of Article 28 apply to these surcharges with necessary modifications. Certain exemptions and credits under Article 28 are excluded. This is a technical provision that creates no new AI-specific compliance obligation.
(4) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, all surcharge monies collected and received by the commissioner under this section shall be deposited daily to the credit of the comptroller with those responsible banks, banking houses or trust companies the comptroller may designate. Those deposits shall be kept separate and apart from all other monies in the possession of the comptroller. The comptroller shall require adequate security from all such depositories. All surcharge monies collected and received under this section shall be paid to the department of labor to be used, in a manner prescribed by the commissioner of the department of labor, for worker retraining programs administered by the department, workforce development programs administered by the department or to be paid to the unemployment insurance fund.
This section directs that all surcharge monies collected under this section be deposited with the comptroller, kept separate from other state funds, and paid to the Department of Labor for use in worker retraining programs, workforce development programs, or the unemployment insurance fund. This is an appropriations and revenue-earmarking provision that creates no compliance obligation for private entities.
This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that section three of this act shall take effect January 1, 2025.
The act takes effect immediately upon enactment, except that the tax law surcharge provisions (Section 3) take effect January 1, 2025. The impact assessment requirements under the labor law (Section 2) take effect immediately.