New Hampshire
Department of Labor releases AI best practices for employers • New Hampshire Bulletin
The U.S. Department of Labor released a list of artificial intelligence best practices for developers and employers this week, aiming to help employers benefit from potential time and cost savings of AI, while protecting workers from discrimination and job displacement.
The voluntary guidelines come about a year after President Joe Biden signed an executive order to assess the innovative potential and risks of AI across government and private sectors. The order directed the creation of the White House AI Council, the creation of a framework for federal agencies to follow relating to privacy protection and a list of guidelines for securing AI talent, for navigating the effects on the labor market and for ensuring equity in AI use, among others.
“Harnessing AI for good and realizing its myriad benefits requires mitigating its substantial risks,” Biden said of the executive order last year. “This endeavor demands a society-wide effort that includes government, the private sector, academia and civil society.”
The DOL’s guide, “Artificial Intelligence and Worker Well-being: Principles and Best Practices for Developers and Employers” was developed with input from public listening sessions and from workers, unions, researchers, academics, employers and developers. It aims to mitigate risks of discrimination, data breaches and job replacement by AI, while embracing possible innovation and production.
“Whether AI in the workplace creates harm for workers and deepens inequality or supports workers and unleashes expansive opportunity depends (in large part) on the decisions we make,” DOL Acting Secretary Julie Su said. “The stakes are high.”
The report shares eight principles and best practices, with a “north star” of centering workers. The guide says workers, especially from underserved communities, should understand and have input in the design, development, testing, training, use and oversight of the AI systems used in their workplaces. This will improve job quality and allow businesses to deliver on their outcomes. Unions should bargain in good faith on the use of AI and electronic monitoring in the workplace, it said.
Other best practices include ethically developing AI, with training that protects and takes feedback from workers. Organizations should also have a clear governance system to evaluate AI used in the workplace, and they should be transparent about the AI systems they’re using, the DOL said.
AI systems cannot violate or undermine workers’ rights to organize, or obstruct their health, safety, wage, anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation protections, the department said. Therefore, prior to deployment, employers should audit their AI systems for potential impacts of discrimination on the basis of “race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, genetic information and other protected bases,” and should make those results public.
The report also outlines how employers can and should help workers with AI. Before implementing an AI tool, employers should consider the impact it will have on job opportunities, and they should be clear about the specific tasks it will perform. Employers that experience productivity gains or increased profits, should consider sharing the benefits with their workers, like through increased wages, improved benefits or training, the DOL said.
The implementation of AI systems has the potential to displace workers, Su said in her summary. To mitigate this, employers should appropriately train their employees to use these systems, and reallocate workers who are displaced by AI to other jobs within their organization when feasible. Employers should reach out to state and local workforce programs for education and upskilling so their workforce can learn new skills, not be phased out by technology.
And lastly, employers using AI that collect workers’ data should safeguard that data, should not collect more data than is absolutely necessary and should not share that data outside the business without workers’ freely given consent.
The guidelines outlined by the DOL are not meant to be “a substitute for existing or future federal or state laws and regulations,” it said, rather a “guiding framework for businesses” that can be customized with feedback from their workers.
“We should think of AI as a potentially powerful technology for worker well-being, and we should harness our collective human talents to design and use AI with workers as its beneficiaries, not as obstacles to innovation,” Su said.
Have you ever wanted to meet the people who work every day to help keep your community safe? Now you and your family have the perfect opportunity!
One of my favorite things about living in New Hampshire is how the community genuinely makes the effort to know one another. Whether its neighbors lending a helping hand, local businesses supporting fundraisers, or first responders showing up for community events, there’s a real sense that we’re all in this together.
Events like Coffee with a Cop are a perfect example of that Granite State spirit!
Coffee with a Cop gives residents the chance to sit down with the dedicated men and women of the Bedford Police Department in a casual setting. Just real conversations over coffee and pastries.
This is a wonderful opportunity for children to meet police officers outside of an emergency situation. Instead of only seeing officers during stressful moments or traffic stops, they get to laugh, ask questions, and learn about the people behind the badge.
As a newer mom, I don’t take for granted the people who work every day to protect the community my child is growing up in.
If you’re looking for a simple way to connect with your neighbors while supporting your local law enforcement, stop by Simply Delicious Bakery on Wednesday, July 15, from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Grab a cold drink, enjoy a pastry, and spend a few minutes getting to know the people who work tirelessly to help keep Bedford a safe place to call home.
READ MORE: The Next Great Filmmaker Could Be Premiering Their Work Right Here In New Hampshire
I love highlighting stories like this because they remind us what makes New Hampshire special. It’s not just the beautiful scenery, it’s the people who continue to show up for one another.
These Are 15 of the Best Coffee Shops in New Hampshire
Gallery Credit: Megan Murphy
35 Community Meals for New Hampshire and Maine
Thank you to Lynne DeMelio-Rafferty for creating this.
New Hampshire
This NH Short Film Festival Returns in July, and Every Film Clocks in at 15 Minutes or Less
Independent filmmaking isn’t just alive; it’s helping shape the future of storytelling.
As technology continues to level the playing field, passionate creators have more opportunities than ever to tell meaningful stories outside the traditional Hollywood system. That’s exactly why events like the Creative Guts Short Film Festival deserve our support.
“The spirit of this festival is to celebrate the creativity, voice, and collaboration of filmmakers.” Now in its third year, The Creative Guts Short Film Festival gives a platform for filmmakers from all genres and different levels of experience to showcase their 15-minute pieces. The films selected this year were based upon a jury panel and even have a chance at the opportunity to screen at Red River Theatres on a limited run after the festival.
How cool is that!?
Awards in different categories will also be given to chosen filmmakers at the end of the event.
The evolution of cinema:
According to one of the UK’s biggest film festivals (Raindance), “The old model of filmmaking was built around gatekeepers.”
“Studios controlled production. Distributors controlled access. Television networks controlled visibility. Film festivals controlled discovery. Audiences arrived at the end of the pipeline. That structure shaped the kind of stories that could exist.”
Today, that model is rapidly changing. Raindance explains, “That pipeline is collapsing in real time. A filmmaker with a phone, editing software, and a direct audience relationship can now build attention faster than institutions that once controlled the entire ecosystem. That changes everything.”
As someone who has spent years in the filmmaking world, I know firsthand that audiences don’t always see the countless late nights, rewrites, equipment hiccups, and endless problem-solving that happen long before a film ever reaches the screen.
Every finished project represents months (or even years) of hard work, creativity, and determination.
A reason to support:
That’s one of the reasons I love short film festivals. Instead of committing to one feature-length movie, you get to experience a wide range of storytelling styles, genres, and perspectives all in one afternoon.
The best films don’t just entertain you, they linger long after the credits. They spark conversations on the drive home, challenge the way you see the world, or introduce you to a filmmaker whose work you’ll be eager to follow.
If you’re looking to experience something different while supporting New Hampshire’s creative community, this festival is a great place to start. You may discover your next favorite filmmaker before everyone else does!
2026 Creative Guts Short Film Festival
READ MORE: This Small New England Bakery Is Winning Hearts With Biscuit Flights
Date: Thursday, July 30, 2026
Time: 6:00PM
Location: Red River Theatres, Concord, NH
Early bird price: $15 (June 15th to June 30th)
Regular price: $20 (July 1st to July 30th)
These 11 Drive-In Theaters in NH, ME, and MA Are Still Operational
Gallery Credit: Meg
Movies Set in New Hampshire
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by the Justice Department aimed at compelling New Hampshire to turn over its voter rolls, dealing the Trump administration another setback in its quest for detailed information about the nation’s voters.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Joseph LaPlante found that the request to provide the state’s voter registration list did not comply with a section of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 pertaining to federal election records. His ruling, issued Monday, also found that the Justice Department failed to allege any violation under the Help America Vote Act of 2002, which established standards for states’ voting systems and voter registration lists.
That prevents “allowing the Attorney General unrestricted access to New Hampshire’s (voter list) to conduct a line-by-line audit to assess a ‘possible’ violation of a federal statute,” wrote LaPlante, an appointee of former President George W. Bush.
New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan, a Republican, welcomed the ruling.
“I am committed to protecting the private information of New Hampshire voters to the fullest extent required by law,” he said in a statement.
The dismissal in New Hampshire brings to 10 the number of states where the Justice Department has lost similar cases. The department has sued to force release of detailed state voter data — which includes dates of birth, addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers — in 30 states and the District of Columbia.
In addition to New Hampshire, judges have rejected those attempts in Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. In Georgia, a judge dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit because it had been filed in the wrong city, prompting the government to refile elsewhere.
In explaining their push for the records, federal officials have said they need the voter data to ensure that states are complying with federal election laws related to maintaining voter registration lists, even though states already have detailed processes to do that. In the case out of Rhode Island, a Justice Department attorney acknowledged that the department was seeking unredacted voter roll information so it could be shared with the Department of Homeland Security to check citizenship status.
Democratic and some Republican officials have objected to the Justice Department requests for detailed voter data and said such a demand violates state and federal privacy laws.
At least 13 states have either provided or promised to provide their voter registration lists to the department, according to the Brennan Center for Justice and Associated Press reporting: Alaska, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming.
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