By Laura A. Mitchell & Alyssa J. Calabrese, Jackson Lewis Law Firm

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced ton April 30, 2024 the release of a new Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) landing page. The landing page, which encourages readers to “check back often for updates” contains links to the Agency’s thoughts about the use of AI in federal contractors’ employment processes.

Following a link labeled Artificial Intelligence and Equal Employment Opportunity for Federal Contractors the Agency provides ten “frequently asked questions” followed by a list of “promising practices” for the development and use of AI by federal contractors. These practices “while not expressly required, actions contractors may consider to help avoid potential harm to workers and promote trustworthy development and use of AI.” The practices include suggestions on the use of AI in the equal employment opportunity context, obtaining a vendor-created AI system, and accessibility and disability inclusion in the AI space.

This new guidance comes just weeks after OFCCP signed onto a joint statement with other Federal Agencies to protect the public from unlawful bias in automated systems earlier this month.  A link to the joint statement is also available on OFCCP’s AI landing page.

Part of the U.S. Department of Labor, the OFCCP is responsible for ensuring that employers doing business with the Federal government comply with the laws and regulations requiring nondiscrimination.