Fisher Phillips Partner Testifies Before the U.S. House of Representatives on the Impact of AI on American Workplaces

Dave Walton, partner at Fisher Phillips and Chair of the firm’s AI, Data, and Analytics team, testified today before the U.S.  House Committee on Education and the Workforce for the Committee’s hearing on “Building An AI-Ready America: Adopting AI At Work.”

Dave’s testimony addressed three critical questions surrounding the adoption of AI in America’s workplaces: How are employers using AI and managing the risks? Will AI destroy jobs or create them? And what is the impact of AI on an employee’s rights under section 7 of the NLRA?

In his testimony, Dave outlines the potential AI has to improve all workplaces, including eliminating many mundane tasks and making work more enjoyable; making factory and manufacturing jobs much safer; and making it easier and cheaper for the government to protect workers and enforce its laws.

Additionally, Dave points to historical and economic examples to prove that AI will not destroy employment. By invoking Jevons’ Paradox, he explains that AI will likely make work more efficient and increase demand for skilled labor in tangential industries. Ultimately, he argues, policies should focus on upskilling or reskilling employees to ensure the workforce can adapt alongside technological change and fully participate in the new opportunities AI creates, rather than attempting to slow or restrict innovation itself.

Ultimately, as AI has become essential for American competitiveness, Dave urges both employers and lawmakers to harness this technology responsibly through smart governance, not blanket prohibitions.

Click here to listen to Dave’s February 3, 2026 testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and here to read his full transcript.

For more information about Fisher Phillips’ AI, Data and Analytics practice, please click here.

About Fisher Phillips (www.fisherphillips.com)

With over 700 attorneys across the United States, Mexico and Japan, and a vast network of attorneys in jurisdictions around the globe, Fisher Phillips advises and advocates for employers on an international scale. Through our technology-driven approach, we partner with companies to achieve their business objectives, anticipate potential disruption, and provide the legal guidance to navigate and resolve the workplace matters critical to their success.