As lawmakers consider how to best regulate AI deployment in workplaces, a new policy brief from the Economic Policy Institute, Workshop, and We Build Progress details how federal policymakers can strengthen the unemployment insurance (UI) system and build a better safety net for all workers.

Decades of underinvestment, coupled with attacks on unions and other labor supports, have left workers without an adequate safety net. Any effective approach to fixing the UI system must be comprehensive and should apply regardless of whether a worker is displaced due to AI. The brief recommends a range of steps that federal policymakers should take, including: 

• Boosting unemployment benefits. The percentage of wages that UI replaces for workers has declined over time and has not kept pace with inflation. In 2025, national average UI benefits replaced well under half of national average wages. UI benefits should be designed to ensure that workers can afford housing, food, and other essentials during their period of joblessness.
• Standardizing benefits across states. Benefit amounts and the duration of benefits vary across states. In Arizona and Florida, for example, UI benefits replace less than 15% of average weekly wages. Policymakers should ensure benefit amounts are consistent across states and require states to provide at least 26 weeks of benefits. 
• Expanding eligibility to receive benefits. UI should cover a broader range of workers, including part-time workers, independent contractors, job seekers who have not been recently employed, and seasonal and temporary workers.

The brief also weighs the merits and pitfalls of establishing a stand-alone unemployment program solely focused on AI. These considerations include program design, stakeholder roles, eligibility criteria challenges, the resources needed to be effective, and vulnerability to reauthorization hurdles in Congress. 

“Losing a job for any reason or length of time is traumatic and damaging, in large part because workers lack an adequate safety net to smooth those transitions. If policymakers are serious about easing the impact of AI-related job transitions for workers, they should strengthen the safety net for workers in any scenario,” said Mary Beech, fellow at Workshop and author of the policy brief.

The brief is the first in a series outlining a pro-worker AI policy playbook. Future policy briefs will focus on how collective bargaining, strong labor markets, worker privacy protections, and more can help address concerns about protecting and empowering workers during technological change. These briefs are part of a joint project in which EPI, the AFL-CIO Tech Institute, We Build Progress, and Workshop explore comprehensive federal policy frameworks around AI and workers.