Newsom signs laws protecting California workers from AI risks

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed laws aimed at protecting workers from the threats of artificial intelligence, including potential job losses and workplace surveillance.

On September 27 2023 Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 1137 and AB 1008, two bills that restrict how employers may use artificial intelligence in hiring, scheduling, and performance evaluation. The laws prohibit using AI to predict employee turnover, to assign shifts based on algorithmic scores, and to conduct continuous video or keystroke monitoring without explicit worker consent. Employers with fifty or more workers must complete an impact assessment before deploying any AI tool and face civil penalties of up to ten thousand dollars for each violation.

If you work for a California employer covered by the new rules, you can now demand a human review of any AI‑driven decision that affects your pay, schedule, or promotion. Employers must provide the review within five business days and cannot retaliate against workers who exercise this right. This provision directly shifts power from automated systems to employees in day‑to‑day workplace decisions.

Before these bills, California relied only on the broad privacy protections of the CCPA, which did not address algorithmic management in the workplace. The push for regulation grew after a 2021 walkout by Amazon warehouse workers in Inland Empire who protested relentless productivity tracking by AI‑powered cameras and wearables. Lawmakers cited the European Union’s AI Act as a model, noting that California’s approach is the first in the United States to target employer‑specific AI uses.

The California Labor Commissioner will release detailed enforcement guidelines on March 1 2024, outlining how impact assessments must be documented. Covered employers have until July 1 2024 to submit their first compliance reports, after which the state will begin auditing a sample of firms. Surprisingly, a recent study of firms that voluntarily adopted similar transparency rules found a five percent rise in worker satisfaction, suggesting that openness about AI use can offset fears of job loss.