The European Parliament Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) is calling on the European Commission to introduce a new law to regulate the use of algorithmic technologies, including AI, within European workplaces.
MEPs have agreed recommendations for a new EU bill to ensure transparent, fair and safe use of monitoring and decision-making systems in the workplace. They have advocated for these technologies to be overseen by humans and emphasise the importance of transparency and protection of fundamental rights and personal data.
The EMPL has stated that there must be human oversight for all decisions taken or supported by algorithmic management (AM) systems. Workers should be able to request explanations on decisions taken or supported by AM. Final decisions on initiation of termination of employment, contract renewals, changes in remuneration or disciplinary action must be taken by a human.
MEPs have also recommended that workers should be informed about how these systems affect working conditions, when they are used, what type of data they collect and process and how human oversight is ensured. It has also been recommended that workers have training on how to deal with these systems and should be consulted on remuneration, evaluation, task allocation or working time taken with support of AM systems.
To protect workers’ privacy and data, the proposed new rules would prohibit processing of data relating to workers’ emotional, psychological or neurological states, private communications, data of workers while off-duty, real-time geolocation tracking outside working hours and use of data relating to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
The European Parliament will vote on this initiative during its December plenary session and the Commission will then have three months to respond with steps it plans to take or by giving reasons for any refusal to propose a legislative initiative. The current existing legislation on AI includes the AI Act and the GDPR. The current rules relating specifically to the use of AI at work are set out in the Platform Work Directive.
