New DOL Guidance Encourages Employer ‘AI Literacy’ Training

Quick Hits

• The DOL’s AI Literacy Framework defines essential skills for effectively using and evaluating generative AI technologies in the workplace.
• The framework encourages employers to provide hands-on training to ensure all employees possess baseline AI literacy skills to engage with AI tools responsibly and effectively.
• The framework outlines foundational content areas and key principles for effective training, including experiential learning and the integration of complementary human skills alongside AI competencies.

On February 13, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration published Training and Employment Notice (TEN) 07-25, rolling out the DOL’s “Artificial Intelligence Literacy Framework.” The framework provides voluntary guidance “designed to encourage expanded AI literacy across the public workforce and education systems.” The framework establishes a working definition of AI literacy and identifies five foundational content areas and seven delivery principles intended to guide program design for AI education and training.

What Does ‘AI Literacy’ Mean?

The DOL defines AI literacy as “a foundational set of competencies that enable individuals to use and evaluate AI technologies responsibly, with a primary focus on generative AI, which is increasingly central to the modern workplace.” The framework identifies “generative AI,” (which is more broadly understood as a type of AI that creates new content such as text, images, or programing code) as “the most transformative and widespread application[] of AI” and what is typically meant when people refer to “AI.” Key to AI literacy is that workers have a “foundational level of knowledge and skill” that “serves as a baseline for engaging with AI tools in any job,” while noting that for some jobs, workers may need “specific AI skills” and a greater “depth of knowledge” or “proficiency.” (Emphasis in original).

What Is the Framework’s Purpose?

At the core of AI literacy and the framework is a recognition that “every worker will need baseline AI literacy skills to succeed, regardless of industry or occupation.” The DOL is specifically calling on employers to use the framework as a guidepost to prepare workers and new hires to use AI tools “responsibly and effectively,” including onboarding new hires, upskilling current employees, and ensuring managers can guide AI adoption.

The framework encourages employers to review their workflows and identify tasks where AI can “augment employee capabilities.”

“Employers can encourage simple hands-on practice built around common workplace tasks, provide staff with clear internal guidance on appropriate AI use, and identify roles that may require deeper proficiency,” the framework states.

The framework follows up on the White House’s July 2025 AI “Action Plan” seeking to remove regulations and other barriers to development of AI technology in the United States, and the president’s April 2025 Executive Order 14277, “Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth,” which seeks to promote education and integration of AI in K-12, higher education, and workplaces.

What Are the Key Principles?

The framework outlines five foundational content areas that AI literacy programs should address, focused on: (1) Understanding AI Principles; (2) Exploring AI Uses; (3) Directing AI Effectively; (4) Evaluating AI Outputs; and (5) Using AI Responsibly.

To that end, the framework identifies seven delivery principles to guide employers, educational institutions, and other stakeholders in designing and implementing AI literacy training efforts:

1. Enable Experiential Learning—The framework states that AI literacy is “most effectively developed through direct, hands-on use,” such as interactive prompt exercises and live feedback loops, rather than abstract instruction.
2. Embed Learning in Context—According to the framework, training is more effective when aligned with a worker’s specific job, industry, or existing training program, such as registered apprenticeships or career and technical education (CTE) curricula.
3. Build Complementary Human Skills—The framework emphasizes that AI tools amplify human input, and training should demonstrate how AI augments skills like critical thinking, creativity, and domain expertise rather than replacing them.
4. Address Prerequisites to AI Literacy—The framework notes that AI literacy efforts require learners to have foundational access, including digital literacy skills, device access, and broadband connectivity, and that “[p]rograms should proactively identify and address these barriers.”
5. Create Pathways for Continued Learning—The framework positions foundational AI literacy as a “starting point” and encourages programs to establish routes for workers to pursue specialized training or transition into AI-related roles.
6. Prepare Enabling Roles—The framework states that managers, trainers, mentors, and career counselors supporting workers should themselves be equipped with AI knowledge through approaches like train-the-trainer models and manager upskilling.
7. Design for Agility—Because “AI technologies evolve at a pace unlike previous workplace tools,” the framework calls for built-in mechanisms for adaptation, including modular content design, continuous updates, and feedback-driven iteration.

Next Steps

The DOL’s AI Literacy framework illustrates the current administration’s approach to addressing the impact of AI on the workforce and labor markets, seeking to promote the adoption, use, and understanding of this emerging technology. While voluntary and not a mandate, the DOL’s framework encourages employers to embrace AI training and skill development. As such, employers may want to review their AI training programs and resources and consider implementing such programs for their employees and new hires with consideration to the framework’s outlined principles.

At the same time, the DOL acknowledges that the framework is a working document intended to evolve over time in response to rapidly changing technology, evolving labor dynamics, and stakeholder input. The DOL is welcoming feedback from employers and other stakeholders on effective AI literacy efforts, barriers to success, and opportunities for further guidance. Employers may want to consider taking the opportunity to provide feedback and influence future guidance on this issue.

Ogletree Deakins’ Technology Practice Group will continue to monitor developments and will provide updates on the Cybersecurity and Privacy, Employment Law, and Technology blogs as additional information becomes available.

This article and more information on how the administration’s actions impact employers can be found on Ogletree Deakins’ New Administration Resource Hub.

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