California Draws the Line on AI Firings, Layoffs and Workplace Surveillance
New laws require human oversight of AI-assisted firings, disclosure of automation-driven layoffs and tighter limits on workplace surveillance.
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California Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday, 30 September, signed a package of laws restricting how employers use artificial intelligence to monitor, discipline and dismiss workers.
Under SB 947, employers cannot rely solely on automated systems to discipline or fire employees. When an AI-generated assessment is the primary basis for a decision, a human reviewer must verify its findings against supporting evidence. Employees must also receive written notice and can request information about the data used in the decision
The measure takes effect on July 1, 2027.
The governor’s office described it as one of a series of first-in-the-nation worker protections.
Another law, SB 951, expands California’s layoff notification requirements. Employers must disclose when AI or other automated technology is substantially responsible for a mass layoff, relocation or closure, identifying the affected jobs, functions being automated and technology involved.
The disclosures apply to layoffs covered by California’s existing Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act, which generally requires 60 days’ notice for qualifying workforce reductions.
The state has also tightened workplace surveillance rules. AB 1883 prohibits employers from using AI-powered surveillance tools to infer workers’ emotional states or collect neural data, subject to specified exceptions. Violations can attract civil penalties of up to $500 each.
A separate measure, AB 1331, generally prohibits workplace surveillance in bathrooms and allows employees to leave monitoring devices behind before entering, with exceptions for certain safety and identification requirements.
“AI should expand opportunity, not come at the expense of workers and families,” Newsom said in the official announcement. “As this technology reshapes the workplace, California is putting people at the center.”
The measures add to a broader set of California rules covering AI in healthcare, education, transparency and other areas.
Newsom had earlier ordered state agencies to track AI-related labor disruption, and California launched a tool in June to monitor signs of job losses associated with the technology.
Newsom also used an executive order to retain the term artificial intelligence in California government, a day after US President Donald Trump directed the federal executive branch to replace that terminology with super intelligence in official communications and non-statutory documents.
