California now requires employers to name the AI system behind layoffs
A new state law forces companies to say explicitly when AI caused a mass layoff, which jobs it replaced, and what tool did it.
What happened: California signed SB 951 into law on September 30, 2026, amending the state's Cal/WARN Act. Any employer with 75 or more workers that lays off 50 or more people, closes operations, or relocates because of AI or automation now has to say so clearly in its official notice, and spell out the details.
Why it matters: Before this, companies could issue a standard WARN notice without ever mentioning automation as a cause. Now the law forces a paper trail: which jobs disappeared, what functions got automated, and which AI system did it. It also creates a new category, 'technological cessation in hiring,' for when a company quietly stops hiring for a role because software now does it, even if nobody currently in that job was fired.
How it works, plainly: On top of the existing 60-day notice to workers, the state, and local officials, qualifying layoffs must now carry the header 'This notice is for a technology displacement.' The notice must list the number of workers affected, their job titles, their location, the automated tasks involved, and the type of AI or technology responsible. California's Employment Development Department will post summaries of these notices online and issue quarterly statewide reports.
The rollout: The existing penalty for violating Cal/WARN notice rules, up to $500 per day, still applies, but now covers these new disclosure requirements too. Separately, by January 1, 2028, EDD must report to the legislature on how AI is reshaping hiring across industries, including whether companies should eventually have to disclose when they simply stop hiring for a role. That broader reporting mandate expires January 1, 2029.