Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

California continues to expand its regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) and workplace technology. On September 30, 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom signed four bills: SB 947, SB 951, AB 1883, and AB 1331, that establish new requirements concerning automated employment decisions, technology-driven workforce reductions, and employee surveillance.

Together, these measures reflect California's increasing scrutiny of how employers use technology to manage their workforces. While the laws impose different obligations, they underscore the importance of human oversight, employee privacy, and transparency in workplace decision-making. Most of the new requirements take effect January 1, 2027, with certain provisions becoming operative later.

SB 947: Human Oversight of Automated Employment Decisions

SB 947, also known as the “No Robo Bosses Act,” limits employers’ reliance on automated decision systems (ADS) when making disciplinary and termination decisions.

Beginning July 1, 2027, employers may not rely solely on an ADS to discipline or terminate an employee. When an employer primarily relies on an automated output, a human reviewer must corroborate the decision using relevant supporting information. If the output cannot be corroborated or is found to be inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading, the employer cannot rely on it to make the decision.

The law also establishes employee notice and data-access rights. When an employer primarily relies on an ADS in making a disciplinary or termination decision, the affected employee must receive a separate written notice at or before the time of the decision. The notice must identify the ADS used, describe the specific data or metrics the system relied upon, explain that a human reviewer corroborated the output, and inform the employee of their right to request additional information. Employees may also request a meaningful description of their personal data used by the system, as well as the data used to generate the ADS output.

SB 951: Additional Disclosure Requirements for AI-Related Layoffs

SB 951 expands California's Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (Cal-WARN) requirements when AI or other automated technology contributes to certain workforce reductions.

Effective January 1, 2027, employers issuing an otherwise required Cal-WARN notice must provide additional information when the covered event is caused in whole or in substantial part by technology replacing or automating employment positions.

The additional disclosures must identify the number, classifications, and work locations of affected employees, the job functions being automated, and the type of technology responsible for the displacement. The notice must also include an express written statement that the covered event is caused in whole or in substantial part by the introduction of technology that replaces or automates employment positions, using language that clearly designates the event as a technology-related workforce displacement.

Importantly, SB 951 does not independently trigger Cal-WARN obligations for every AI-related job elimination. Instead, its additional disclosure requirements apply to workforce reductions that otherwise satisfy Cal-WARN's coverage requirements.

AB 1883: Restrictions on AI-Powered Employee Surveillance

AB 1883 addresses the growing use of AI-enabled technologies to monitor employees and analyze workplace behavior.

Beginning January 1, 2027, the law generally prohibits employers from using AI-powered workplace surveillance tools to recognize, infer, or predict an individual’s emotional state or to collect neural data. For purposes of the statute, “neural data” means information generated by measuring the electrical or other activity of an individual’s nervous system. The law includes several statutory exceptions, including surveillance tools used in connection with employee safety in hazardous work environments, tools used for authorized medical monitoring at the employee’s request, and tools used in clinical or scientific research settings with appropriate consent.

These restrictions are particularly relevant to employers using monitoring technologies that incorporate biometric analysis, behavioral assessments, or other AI-enabled capabilities. Employers should evaluate whether existing surveillance systems, including technologies provided by third-party vendors, collect or analyze information that is prohibited under the new law or falls outside a recognized statutory exception.

AB 1331: New Protections Against Workplace Surveillance

AB 1331 establishes additional employee privacy protections by restricting the use of workplace surveillance tools in bathrooms.

Effective January 1, 2027, the law generally prohibits employers from using workplace surveillance tools to monitor employees in workplace bathrooms, subject to limited statutory exceptions. Employees also have the right to leave covered surveillance devices behind when entering a workplace bathroom. Employers may require employees to retain a device only if it is necessary for safety monitoring in a hazardous work environment or is otherwise required as an essential function of the employee’s specific job duties. The mere fact that a device serves general identification or security functions does not, by itself, create an obligation to retain it.

The law broadly defines workplace surveillance tools to include technologies that collect employee information through video or audio monitoring, geolocation tracking, time-tracking systems, and other electronic means.

Unlike AB 1883, which specifically addresses certain AI-powered surveillance capabilities, AB 1331 applies more broadly to workplace monitoring technologies, regardless of whether they incorporate AI.

What Employers Should Do to Prepare

California’s latest legislation highlights the importance of evaluating how automated and surveillance technologies are used throughout the employment relationship. As AI and automated technologies become increasingly integrated into workplace operations, California’s new laws signal a continued effort to balance technological innovation with employee protections. Employers that proactively assess their existing practices and implement appropriate safeguards will be better positioned to navigate the state’s evolving regulatory landscape.