Last month, 40 policy and labor organizations took their fight for a federal framework to protect workers from AI disruptions to Capitol Hill. Led by the Economic Policy Institute, the AFL-CIO Tech Institute, and two social justice groups, We Build Progress and Workshop, they reminded members of Congress that majorities of Americans want to establish guardrails that protect jobs and states’ regulatory powers.

Since Congress hasn’t really stepped up, states are doing the heavy lifting. All 50 have introduced AI legislation in areas ranging from education and health care to criminal justice. But specific protections to shield workers from job losses are still in their infancy. Even in California, an AI law pioneer, state lawmakers are hard-pressed to keep up. One pending bill would require employers to provide 90 days’ advance notice of layoffs “before any technological displacement affecting 25 or more workers during any 30-day period.” It also would mandate that employers with more than 100 workers allow the affected individuals to apply for other positions within that organization.

Layoffs are outpacing those kinds of legislative fixes especially in the hard-hit tech sector, where there are deeper problems that need addressing. An entire generation of new graduates sold on the promise of job security in tech can’t even get their collective foot in the door before layoffs hit.

Software engineer Zaul Moayedian began his career at Paystand, a Santa Cruz–based financial tech company handling business-to-business fiat and cryptocurrency-based transactions. He started out in their blockchain department before transferring to an IT role, and then moved to an engineering team. His team began using AI roughly two years ago after company executives realized the technology could help engineers develop and push their products faster. (Disclosure: I worked with Moayedian at Paystand as a college intern with the company.)