California bill restricts AI-only worker discipline

The legislation is SB 947, named the No Robo Bosses Act of 2026 and authored by Sen. Jerry McNerney.[2] Starting July 1, 2027, it would bar California employers from relying solely on an automated decision system to fire or discipline workers.[1][2] When a system assists with those decisions, the bill requires human oversight and verification.[2] International Business Times reports that if technology is the main factor in a decision, an employer must support it with other evidence.[3] The rule therefore distinguishes assistance from allowing a system to make the decision on its own.[2]

The law defines an automated decision system as a system that issues simplified output—such as a score, classification or recommendation—to assist or replace human discretionary decision-making and materially affect people.[1] The definition excludes tools including spam filters, firewalls, antivirus software, calculators and databases.[1] For employers reviewing their processes, the important question is whether a tool’s output is used in a covered disciplinary or termination decision, rather than simply whether software is involved.[1] The evidence does not establish that every algorithm or workplace software tool falls within the law’s definition.[1]

An employer that primarily relies on an automated decision system for a disciplinary or termination decision must give the affected employee written notice after using it.[1] An employee may also request a description of their own data when that data is primarily used by the system for such a decision.[1] The law bars retaliation against employees for taking specified actions to assert their rights under it.[1] Employers can use these provisions to guide a review of notice procedures, data-request handling and safeguards against retaliation before the law’s start date.[1]

The law applies to all cities, including charter cities, but does not apply to parties covered by a qualifying collective bargaining agreement that explicitly waives its provisions.[1] It also preserves certain automated-system uses related to developing aircraft for the national airspace when reasonably necessary to comply with a federal statute, regulation or binding federal contract.[1] The Labor Commissioner may enforce the law, and public prosecutors may bring civil enforcement actions; the law provides for a $500 civil penalty per violation.[1] SB 947 passed the Assembly 53-14 and then the Senate 28-10; the California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO, sponsored it.[2]