As businesses integrate artificial intelligence (“AI”) and automated decision systems (“ADS”) into business operations, they must be cognizant of California’s new AI employment laws targeting the implementation and use of automated decision systems in their operations, practices, and procedures.
On September 30, 2026, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 947 dubbed “No Robo Bosses” bill, which becomes operative on July 1, 2027. (See Stats. 2026, ch. 859, adding Lab. Code, §§ 1520–1526.7.) This law joins two sets of laws related to automated decisions systems that are already in effect, including the Civil Rights Council's regulations on "automated-decision systems" under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”), which has been in effect since October 1, 2025 and the California Privacy Protection Agency's regulations on "automated decisionmaking technology" under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which requires compliance by January 1, 2027. (See Cal. Code Regs., tit. 2, § 11008.1; Cal. Code Regs., tit. 11, § 7200(b).)
All three of these laws, the FEHA regulations, the CCPA regulations, and SB 947, reach different employers, define covered technology differently, and are enforced by different agencies, but they all regulate the HR decision about an applicant and/or employee wherein an AI software tool helped, assisted, and/or made the decision. Employers who treat them as three separate checklists run the risk of creating inconsistent documents that plaintiffs’...
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