On Sept. 30, 2026, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a group of laws that limit how employers use artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor, evaluate and lay off workers. Together, they reach discipline, surveillance and reductions in force, three areas where HR decisions increasingly run through software. Because other states often follow California, HR leaders everywhere should understand these AI laws.
SB 947: No Robo Bosses. Employers may not rely solely on an automated decision system (ADS) to discipline or terminate an employee. An ADS is any tool built on machine learning, statistical modeling, or AI that produces a score, classification, or recommendation used to assist or replace human decisions.
Employers that “primarily rely” on ADS output must take steps to corroborate the information and notify the employee. Specifically, when making the disciplinary or termination decision, a person must independently corroborate the ADS output using other sources, such as supervisor evaluations, personnel files, employee work product, peer reviews or witness interviews. If the employer cannot corroborate the ADS output, it cannot be used to make the decision. Employers that primarily rely on an ADS must give the employee a written post-use notice and, on request, a description of the employee’s own data that the system used. The law also bars using an ADS to infer protected characteristics or to retaliate.
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