California's No Robo Bosses Act Curbs AI-Only Discipline and Termination Decisions
Governor Newsom has signed SB 947, barring employers from relying solely on automated decision systems in discipline and termination decisions and imposing notice, human-corroboration and data-disclosure duties from July 1, 2027.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed SB 947, reported as the "No Robo Bosses Act," amending the Labor Code to regulate employer use of automated decision systems (ADS): computational processes drawn from machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics or AI that output scores, classifications or recommendations affecting individuals. Spam filters, firewalls, antivirus tools, calculators and databases are excluded, but vendor screening and analytics tools feeding performance management or exit decisions are likely in scope.
Employers may not base discipline or termination solely on ADS output; a human must review and corroborate it, and may not act on output that cannot be corroborated or that the reviewer finds inaccurate, incomplete or misleading. A separate plain-language written notice must disclose ADS reliance, human review, a contact, the employee's right to a meaningful and objective description of the data used, and anti-retaliation assurances. Employers also may not use ADS to infer FEHA-protected status, to predict adverse action for exercising legal rights, or to evade employment, labor, safety or civil rights law. The Labor Commissioner and public prosecutors may enforce; qualifying collective bargaining agreements may waive provisions. Before the July 1, 2027 effective date, counsel should inventory candidate tools, map outputs to termination workflows, and align vendor configurations, review protocols and notice templates. Penalties are not detailed in the reported summary.