Legal Series: What HR Professionals Need to Know About the National AI Policy Framework

This article is part of an ongoing legal series designed to provide insight and practical guidance on current and emerging workplace compliance issues. These insights shared by lawyers are based on their interpretation of existing regulations and proposed changes, and intended for informational purposes, not to be regarded as legal advice.  

Programs and tools that use artificial intelligence (AI) have been rapidly advancing, enabling people to accomplish more in shorter periods of time. Given this pace, the White House released an official AI policy framework in March 2026. That framework outlines potential federal priorities for AI use, workforce development, and regulatory consistency.

So far, the government has not proposed a comprehensive regulatory framework for handling AI tools and tool use. If Congress acts on the new policy recommendations, HR professionals may see AI tools and tool use become more uniform. This could affect workforce planning, training, and compliance strategies.

But until Congress acts, employers need to be aware that some states and jurisdictions have current or proposed laws that regulate the use of AI in employment such as California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York City.

What Does the White House’s National AI Policy Framework Say?

Released on March 20, 2026, the White House’s National Policy Framework on Artificial Intelligence includes several primary objectives. Those objectives focus on:

• Minors’ use of AI programs,
• The costs of operating AI data centers,
• Intellectual property,
• Free speech and censorship,
• Removing barriers to innovation and promoting American AI development over other nations,
• Educating the American workforce and youth about using AI tools, and
• Creating a unified national AI policy.

The AI policy framework primarily recommends that Congress take various actions. It does not have the force of law that an executive order would have. Whether the government achieves the goals identified by the AI framework depends on Congress passing new legislation.

Objective One: “Protecting Children and Empowering Parents”

First, the AI policy recommends that Congress build off the Take It Down Act, a law designed to protect individuals from deepfakes, meaning AI-generated impersonations. It also declares that Congress should pass laws requiring AI companies to:

• Provide tools for parents to manage children’s privacy, content exposure, screen time, and accounts;
• Establish age attestation to use AI services; and
• Implement features that reduce the risks of exploitation and self-harm.

Congress should also affirm that existing data and privacy protections apply to AI systems and avoid ambiguous standards, ensuring its regulations are easy to follow and understand.

If Congress adopts the White House’s recommendations, HR professionals may need to pay special attention if their businesses hire minors and allow them access to company phones or computers for work. Organizations may also need to adjust onboarding processes if AI platforms introduce additional age or identity verification steps.

Objective Two: “Safeguarding and Strengthening American Communities”

Next, the AI policy framework recommends that Congress:

• Restrict increases to residential power bills due to new data centers,
• Streamline permitting for new data center construction,
• Augment efforts to combat AI-based scams,
• Create a plan and help national security agencies track and understand frontier AI models, and
• Provide incentives for small businesses that deploy and use AI tools.

For HR professionals, if Congress follows the White House’s recommendations, you may see opportunities for cost-saving measures for implementing different tools in your business or seeking innovative ways to use AI.

Objective Three: “Respecting Intellectual Property Rights and Supporting Creators”

The third goal the AI policy identifies relates to intellectual property. AI programs have faced many legal challenges due to their history of scraping data from the Internet and training on that data without the permission of the individuals who own the intellectual property rights.

The White House recommends that Congress:

• Allow the courts to resolve ongoing cases about fair use and scraping the Internet for data,
• Consider rights or licensing frameworks to allow intellectual property owners to negotiate with AI companies for compensation for use of their style or works,
• Consider a framework to protect individuals from AI-generated replicas of themselves, and
• Monitor the development of copyright cases and enforcement to determine whether additional regulations are needed.

Several ongoing court cases seek to determine the liability of AI companies for scraping data without consent.

At the same time, some courts have concluded that AI-generated content does not qualify for legal protection under intellectual property law. For HR professionals, awareness of AI-generated content's limitations can help identify potential issues. For example, just because a business uses generative AI to create a logo does not mean the logo would withstand a copyright or trademark law challenge.

Objective Four: “Preventing Censorship and Protecting Free Speech”

The White House also recommends that Congress forbid the U.S. government from compelling AI companies to change content based on political agendas. The policy also suggests that Congress create a mechanism allowing those harmed by government efforts to censor AI programs to seek redress. That mechanism would likely be a right to sue.

Objective Five: “Enabling Innovation and Ensuring American AI Dominance”

Fifth, the policy recommends that Congress:

• Establish regulatory sandboxes to develop and deploy AI applications,
• Provide federal datasets and resources to help AI development and training, and
• Support AI applications within existing regulatory bodies and agencies.

Based on the White House’s recommendations, Congress may encourage federal agencies to incorporate AI into their operations. For HR professionals, this may influence how employment-related AI tools are reviewed, monitored, or regulated. For example, the Department of Labor or a similar agency would likely oversee employment-related uses of AI.

Objective Six: “Educating Americans and Developing an AI-Ready Workforce”

The policy recommends Congress find ways to:

• Ensure workplace training and educational programs include AI tools,
• Expand federal efforts to study AI tools and capabilities, and
• Bolster land-grant institutions' offerings related to AI.

If Congress follows through, objective six may involve efforts beyond legislation, such as working with federal agencies and congressional committees. HR teams may need to evaluate whether current training programs prepare employees to use AI tools effectively and responsibly.

Objective Seven: “Establishing a Federal Policy Framework, Preempting Cumbersome State AI Laws”

Finally, the White House recommends Congress create a federal AI policy framework that:

• Preempts AI regulations that create an undue burden and establishes a minimally burdensome national AI standard;
• Does not preempt state laws related to protecting children, consumers, and preventing fraud;
• Allows states to govern their own use of AI and where data centers go; and
• Forbids states from regulating AI development, burdening Americans’ lawful use of AI, or penalizing AI developers for unlawful use of AI by third parties.

If Congress passes legislation to make AI regulations more uniform, HR professionals may benefit from greater consistency across jurisdictions. This could reduce the complexity of managing compliance across multiple states.

Tracking Future U.S. AI Legislation

Until now, most AI-related legislation news has focused on state-level initiatives and laws. If Congress acts based on the White House’s AI policy recommendations, we may see the U.S. enact AI legislation at the national level. At that time, navigating what is and is not allowed should require less strain for HR professionals.

Outsolve offers resources to help organizations stay up to date on legal developments affecting business owners and HR professionals. If your organization is planning for changes related to AI workforce development, training, or compliance, Outsolve can support efforts to stay organized and prepared as federal policy evolves.