Enacts the automation displacement protection act

Showing the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.

• Democratic2

Shown in neutral colors by design; Agora is non-partisan.

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Rachel May says this is needed

Across New York, workers are already living through automation driven cuts, but they experience them in silence because the law has not caught up. Employers can switch to AI systems without calling it a layoff, even when the impact is identical. Hours shrink, whole job functions disap- pear, and workers have no warning because nothing in current law requires employers to acknowledge what they are doing. A person can spend years mastering a job, show up one morning, and be blindsided as they find their role replaced by a system they never knew was being tested. Workers deserve better than learning after the fact that they have been displaced by a technology investment their employer kept under wraps. The Automation Displacement Protection Act recognizes that technological displacement is still displacement. It demands basic respect and trans- parency from employers that choose to replace human labor with automated systems. Ninety days' notice is not a heavy lift for any business preparing to install an AI system. It is the minimum amount of time workers need to brace for the financial and personal upheaval that follows the loss of hours or wages. The transition period is equally important. If an employer decides to automate a job, the cost of that choice should not be shifted entirely onto the worker. Continued employment, equivalent wages, or employer funded retraining are practical and reasonable expectations. They help workers stay attached to the labor force, avoid sudden income loss, and gain access to skills that may keep them employed in a changing indus- try. Without those guarantees, the speed of technological change falls hardest on the people with the least power to absorb it. The bill also ensures that public money does not reward employers who cut corners at workers' expense. If a business cannot comply with basic notice and transition requirements, it should not receive state grants, loans, or tax incentives. That standard protects both workers and taxpayers and creates an even playing field for the employers who already treat their workforce with fairness. Automation will continue, but New York must insist that workers are not treated as collateral in the process. It sets clear expectations for how employers manage automation driven changes and gives workers the time, stability, and opportunities they need to navigate a shifting economy.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.