California Gov. Gavin Newsom bans AI 'robo bosses' in landmark state law, reversing his earlier veto

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a landmark AI law banning Golden State employers from relying solely on artificial intelligence to fire or discipline workers.  

SB 947, dubbed the No Robo Bosses Act, prevents businesses around the state from exclusively using "automated decision-making systems" in matters of employee discipline and termination. It also restricts their capacity to use AI as a principal tool in such decisions.

Under the bill, employers that rely "primarily" on AI output to make termination or disciplinary decisions must now have a human reviewer corroborate those decisions using additional information, such as managerial evaluations, peer reviews, and personnel files. Additionally, affected employees must be provided with written notice that AI was "primarily used" in their termination or disciplinary decision, a description of the employee data used by the system, and a human point of contact who can further explain the decision.

"No worker should ever be fired or disciplined by a machine, AI or not. Artificial intelligence systems have the potential to boost productivity, but they've also made errors and misjudgments and exhibited bias," California State Senator Jerry McNerney, the bill's author, told CNBC. "AI must remain a tool controlled by humans, not the other way around."

McNerney, a Democrat, first introduced the act in 2025, following a concerted push by organized labor in the state to erect guardrails around management's ability to use AI in taking adverse action against workers. 

Newsom has taken a flurry of recent actions on AI, including signing a broader executive order earlier this month addressing the potential existential risks posed by AI models "before it's too late," and a measure to provide a state framework for independent evaluation and auditing of AI models. Newsom said of the broad EO that the federal government was abdicating "its responsibility to protect Americans."