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As artificial intelligence increasingly shapes hiring, workplace surveillance, and wages, Connecticut lawmakers are debating whether to impose new safeguards. AI-driven systems are already determining pay rates, particularly in gig-economy jobs like those with Uber and Lyft, in which algorithms set fares and driver earnings without transparency.
At a public hearing Tuesday before the Labor and Public Employees Committee, legislators heard testimony on Senate Bill 1484, which would require employers to disclose use of AI in hiring and performance evaluations, limit electronic monitoring, and allow workers to challenge automated decisions. They also considered Senate Bill 1487, which would require rideshare companies to disclose how fares are calculated, how much drivers receive, and how much the companies take in for commissions.
Matt Sharer, director of the Workers’ Rights Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology, testified about AI’s expanding role in employment decisions, warning that workers are often evaluated by algorithms without their knowledge or recourse. He raised concerns over the lack of transparency and accountability in AI-driven hiring and workplace monitoring.
“Employers are increasingly using electronic management systems to monitor and collect data on workers,” Sharer said. “Too often, these systems discriminate, invade privacy, and threaten job security.”
Sharer described how AI tools rank job candidates based on voice tone or facial recognition software that claims to measure “trustworthiness.”
“We’ve seen AI algorithms scoring people’s empathy just from their voices,” he said. “These systems are often built on biased data, and workers don’t even know they’re being judged.”
He warned that AI-driven surveillance is disproportionately used in low-wage industries, often targeting historically marginalized groups.
“Bias is built into many of these systems, and the workers most affected have the least power to fight back,” Sharer said. “This bill is necessary to stop AI from quietly reshaping workplaces without oversight.”
SB 1484 would also restrict electronic monitoring, allowing surveillance only for performance assessments, legal compliance, safety, security, and payroll administration. It would ban biometric tracking like voice prints and fingerprints, prevent employers from requiring employees to install tracking software on personal devices, and prohibit the sale of employee data.
Additionally, companies deploying high-risk AI hiring systems would be required to conduct an independent impact assessment at least one year before implementation to determine whether the system leads to discriminatory outcomes.
Paul Amarone of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association submitted written testimony opposing SB 1484, warning that compliance could be costly and that requiring third-party impact assessments would place a significant financial burden on small businesses.
“Every time a company or a small business wants to utilize AI, they need to have an impact assessment made by a third-party contractor,” Amarone said. “That could cost tens of thousands of dollars or more, depending on the size of the business.”
Testimony was also hard on pay transparency for rideshare drivers, some of whom have said that Uber and Lyft’s pricing models set fares without explanation, leaving their earnings unpredictable and difficult to control.
Joseph Agiri, a longtime Uber driver in Connecticut, testified that AI determines driver pay unpredictably.
“The pay that’s offered to drivers is the function of an algorithm,” he said. “Nobody knows what’s in it or how it works.”
Drivers reported that their pay varies for the same trips, sometimes with no clear reason.
“Some workers do a trip every day, the same trip, and get paid differently,” Agiri said.
A provision of SB 1487Â would require Uber and Lyft to disclose how fares are calculated, how much drivers receive, and what percentage the companies take as commission.
Dan Ocampo, an attorney at the National Employment Law Project, testified that Uber and Lyft have steadily increased their commission rates while driver pay has declined.
“When Uber started, they took 10% per ride. Then it was 20%. Now it’s close to 40%, sometimes even 50% or more,” Ocampo said.
Beyond pay transparency, lawmakers raised concerns that Uber and Lyft may be avoiding millions in state taxes by classifying drivers as independent contractors instead of employees. Ocampo estimated that Connecticut loses $60 million per year in unpaid unemployment insurance contributions.
“Uber drivers, Lyft drivers – we take people to work, to school, to hospitals,” he said. “We deserve to know how we’re being paid.”
As the public becomes more aware of how AI has increasingly become ingrained in daily life, lawmakers are more frequently discussing its impact on jobs. These proposals come as Senate Bill 2, which stalled last year, returns to the Senate with amendments aimed at balancing oversight and innovation. The revised bill includes a regulatory sandbox to test new technology, a workforce training academy, and a technology advisory board. However, Gov. Ned Lamont remains opposed, favoring economic growth and warning that regulations could drive business opportunities elsewhere.