H.R. 10247: Future of America’s Workforce Act

This bill would require the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to publish the Contingent Work Supplement to the Current Population Survey every year instead of on an irregular schedule. The Contingent Work Supplement is a set of survey questions that collects information about workers in nontraditional or contingent jobs, such as contract, temporary, gig, or other flexible work arrangements.

What the bill changes

• Annual publication: BLS would have to prepare and release the supplement each year, starting with the first Current Population Survey published after the bill becomes law.
• Technology-related questions: The supplement would also have to include information about certain technologies that affect work.
• Public reporting if delayed: If BLS does not publish the supplement as required, the Labor Statistics Commissioner must explain why and say when it is expected to be released, in a report to congressional committees.
• Consistency over time: BLS would be required, as much as practicable, to keep the survey comparable from year to year and to publicly document any important changes in definitions or methodology.
• Machine-readable data: The results would need to be made publicly available promptly, in formats that can be used for statistical analysis.

What counts as the “covered technologies”

The bill defines covered technologies broadly. They include systems, including artificial intelligence, that:

• inform, guide, recommend, or otherwise influence how people do work, even if a human still supervises or makes the final decision; or
• adapt, learn, or update their outputs or behavior over time based on data, user interaction, or operational experience.

When deciding whether a technology is covered, BLS may consider whether it affects:

• job tasks,
• productivity expectations,
• work pace,
• scheduling,
• compensation structures,
• job stability,
• how workers are classified, or
• worker autonomy, including through automated or algorithmic assignment, evaluation, monitoring, or management.

The bill also says that a technology does not have to fully automate work, make decisions independently, or replace workers in order to be covered.

In plain terms

Overall, the bill is a reporting and data-collection measure. It would not directly regulate private employers or require businesses to use or avoid any technology. Instead, it would make the federal government collect and publish more regular information about how contingent work is changing, especially as technology and AI affect jobs and workplace conditions.

Relevant Companies

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