California enacted measures restricting AI-based worker surveillance and firing decisions and requiring notice when AI is responsible for mass layoffs.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of laws on September 30 that restricts several uses of artificial intelligence in employment. The measures prohibit employers from using biometric data to predict a worker’s emotional state and from relying on AI to decide whether to fire someone. They also require written notice to workers when AI is responsible for mass layoffs.
The laws address distinct risks as employers introduce automated tools into workforce management: biometric monitoring, job-loss decisions and large-scale layoffs. They do not amount to a general ban on workplace AI. Instead, they set specific limits and notice requirements for the practices described in the legislation, placing obligations on employers using those systems.
Newsom said the laws are intended to ensure AI expands opportunity without coming at the expense of workers and families. Their passage also adds to California’s broader effort to oversee AI: the governor had signed a separate law earlier in September requiring chatbot operators to conduct risk assessments before rollout, according to The Associated Press. He said state action was needed in the absence of comprehensive federal regulation.
For employers, the measures make it important to review how AI tools feed into employment decisions and what notices workers receive. Organizations should distinguish between using AI to assist workplace processes and allowing it to determine consequential outcomes, while checking whether biometric monitoring practices fall under the new restrictions. The laws also illustrate how state-level rules can shape companies’ AI policies even as federal approaches remain unsettled. The AP reported that Newsom signed the measures on his final day to sign or veto bills for the legislative session.