California Bans Employers From Letting AI Alone Fire or Discipline Workers
A new state law requires a human to double-check any AI-driven decision to fire or punish an employee, and to explain it to them in writing.
What happened: Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 947, the No Robo Bosses Act, making California the first state to bar employers from relying solely or primarily on AI to fire or discipline workers. He also signed companion laws banning employers from using biometric data to predict a worker's emotional state, and requiring written notice to employees when AI drove a mass layoff. Newsom had vetoed an earlier version of the bill last year.
Why it matters: The U.S. leads the world in workplace AI adoption, with 90% of American managers saying their firm uses at least one tool to instruct, monitor or evaluate workers, according to an OECD survey. Public trust is sliding: Gallup found 39% of Americans now think AI does more harm than good, up from 31% a year ago, and Pew found 71% expect AI to eliminate jobs. Meta is already facing a lawsuit alleging its AI ranked employees for layoffs in a way that disproportionately hit people who had taken medical or family leave; Meta denies this.
How it works, plainly: If a company 'primarily relies' on automated software to decide a firing or discipline case, a human must now double-check that call against other evidence, like manager evaluations, peer reviews or personnel files. The affected worker must get written notice that AI was the main basis for the decision, a description of what data the system used, and a human contact who can explain it further. Business groups note the law never precisely defines 'primarily relies,' which could leave employers uncertain which tools actually trigger the rules.
The rollout: To win Newsom's signature this time, lawmakers dropped a requirement that employers pre-notify workers about any AI tool affecting conditions, and removed protections for gig workers after pushback from Uber and Lyft. Illinois has a disclosure-only law but no outright ban, so California's version goes further than any other state. A federal version from Senators Markey and Schatz is stalled in Congress, while New York, Louisiana and New Jersey have similar bills pending. California's Republican gubernatorial candidate, Steve Hilton, has backed the law and said it should go even further.