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California puts human review between AI and firing

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law barring employers from using AI alone to fire or discipline workers. Human oversight remains mandatory when automated systems assist those decisions. Unions won a safeguard after an earlier veto, but the final measure dropped contractors, an appeals process and workers’ right to sue for compliance.

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Two anonymous office workers speak face to face on a terrace overlooking the California State Capitol in Sacramento.

AI-assisted firing now requires a human decision

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 947 on September 30, barring employers from relying solely on automated decision-making systems to fire or discipline employees. The measure requires human oversight and verification when those systems assist a decision. State Senator Jerry McNerney sponsored the law, known as the No Robo Bosses Act.[1], [2]

The California Labor Federation backed the safeguard as unions pressed for statutory protections beyond collective bargaining agreements. Its president, Lorena Gonzalez, supported the signed measure while saying stronger protection was needed.[1]

The final law dropped worker appeals and contractor coverage

The bill narrowed during its passage through the legislature. A proposed employee appeals process was removed, as was a right to sue to compel an employer to comply. Independent contractors were also excluded from the final text. Those omissions limit which workers can use the new protection and which routes the measure itself gives them to challenge an AI-assisted decision.[1]

The signing follows an earlier veto

Newsom vetoed the predecessor of the firing bill a year earlier. Labor organizations renewed their push for a package of workplace AI safeguards in February. Nine union-backed proposals reached the governor in this legislative session. The firing law was one outcome of that campaign, with the final compromise retaining human review while leaving out several remedies workers had sought.[1]

References

  1. News sourceCalMattersCalifornia requires human oversight of AI-assisted firing↩1↩2↩3↩4
  2. News sourceCalifornia State SenateCalifornia bars AI-only firing under SB 947↩
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