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Rules / California

Employment: Automated Decision Systems (SB 947, ‘No Robo Bosses Act’)

Enacted, not yet in forceLawBinding

Bars California employers from relying solely on automated decision systems for discipline or termination decisions, requires human review and corroboration, requires a written post-use notice to affected employees and, on request, a description of the employee’s data the system used. Protects workers from retaliation for asserting these rights.

Why it matters

Employers and HR-tech vendors must build human review and worker notices into any AI-assisted discipline or firing process by mid-2027.

What it requires

Human oversightTransparency to usersConsumer rightsPenalties

Key obligations, provision by provision

5 obligations in article order. How IDs work

  1. WTA-R-US-CA-0008-001Labor Code Section 1522(a)EmployersFrom 1 Jul 2027

    Do not use an automated decision system to violate labour, safety, employment or civil rights laws, to infer an employee’s protected status, or to predict and punish workers for exercising legal rights.

  2. WTA-R-US-CA-0008-002Labor Code Section 1522(b)-(c)EmployersFrom 1 Jul 2027

    Do not rely solely on an automated decision system for discipline or termination; when relying primarily on its output, have a human corroborate it, and do not use output that cannot be corroborated or is inaccurate.

  3. WTA-R-US-CA-0008-003Labor Code Section 1522(d)-(e)EmployersFrom 1 Jul 2027

    Give an employee disciplined or terminated primarily using an automated decision system, on request, a meaningful, objective description of their own data the system used, anonymising other people’s personal information.

  4. WTA-R-US-CA-0008-004Labor Code Section 1524EmployersFrom 1 Jul 2027

    Give an employee, when informing them of discipline or termination primarily based on an automated decision system, a plain-language stand-alone written notice stating this, that a human corroborated it, a contact person, and non-retaliation rights.

  5. WTA-R-US-CA-0008-005Labor Code Section 1526EmployersFrom 1 Jul 2027

    Do not discharge, threaten, demote, suspend or otherwise retaliate against an employee for using rights under the part, complaining to the Labor Commissioner, or helping enforce it.

Penalties

$500 civil penalty per violation; Labor Commissioner and public prosecutors enforce

SourceCalifornia Legislative Information: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB947Secondary: https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb947 Checked against the source on 4 Oct 2026. Chapter 859, Statutes of 2026 (approved 30 Sep 2026); operative 1 Jul 2027 per bill text. A 2025 version (SB 7) was vetoed. Signed alongside SB 951 (Ch. 860: Cal/WARN layoff notices must state when layoffs are caused by AI or automation and which job functions are automated) and AB 1883 (Ch. 853: workplace surveillance tools).

Cite this record

WTA-R-US-CA-0008: Employment: Automated Decision Systems (SB 947, ‘No Robo Bosses Act’). California Legislature / Governor. wheresthe.ai, https://wheresthe.ai/rule/us-ca-sb947-no-robo-bosses-2026/ (checked 4 Oct 2026).

History

  • Summary changed from …and requires notice to affected workers including a description of the data… to …requires a written post-use notice to affected employees and, on request, a description of the employee’s data the system…

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