Unions’ push to block Google from buying troves of Spirit Airlines employment records underscores how sensitive workplace information is legally vulnerable to being sold and used for AI training, even without employees’ knowledge.
Google LLC’s proposed $10 million purchase of the defunct Florida-based Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc.'s business and employment data is set for a Sept. 30 approval hearing at the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO and the Air Line Pilots Association recently objected to the proposal, which would offer the tech giant access to millions of internal communications and payroll records, and union activity or collective-bargaining files.
The collection or sale of employee data to third parties for artificial intelligence training remains a major legal blind spot despite the booming demand for real-world corporate records to advance automation tools’ development, employment law scholars and attorneys said. Without federal workplace AI regulation, states are taking the lead, but have targeted other employment issues like algorithmic-driven discrimination — and their broader privacy laws provide only limited recourse.
“Historically, employment data hasn’t been this important or this marketable until the advent of AI,” said Yana Komsitsky, an employment lawyer at Seyfarth Shaw LLP who focuses on AI compliance programs. “Employers have had a lot of flexibility in how they use...
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