Newsom Signs 13 AI Bills, Including a Ban on AI-Only Firings
Gavin Newsom signed the No Robo Bosses Act among 13 AI (see details) bills, a day after criticizing what he heard at President Trump's AI lunch as 'bullsht'. October 2, 2026 - 11:53 am
In California, an AI system will no longer be able to fire or discipline a worker independently. According to his office, Governor Newsom signed the bill on Wednesday.
The law, SB 947, requires employers to have a human review automated decision systems' outputs before disciplining or firing staff. It takes effect on July 1, 2027.
“No worker should ever be fired or disciplined by a robo boss,” said State Senator Jerry McNerney, the bill's author.
Enforcement will be handled by the state labor commissioner, attorney general, and local prosecutors. This is believed to be the first such law in the U.S.
Other AI-related bills signed include:
- Surveillance technology limitations
- Regulations on AI use in healthcare, deepfakes, and digital replicas
- Notice when technology displaces workers
- AI transparency requirements
- Gene synthesis equipment regulations
- Restrictions on AI use by lawyers and schools
- Banning workplace tools that monitor emotional states or collect neural data (AB 1883)
- Prohibiting audio/video monitoring in bathrooms with AI tools (AB 1331)
Newsom also vetoed SB 1130, which would have penalized the use of smart glasses for secret recordings.