California employers could soon be barred from letting artificial intelligence make the final call on firing or disciplining a worker without a human checking the decision first. Senate Bill 947, known as the No Robo Bosses Act of 2026, would require companies that lean on automated decision systems for termination or discipline to have a person independently corroborate the result before acting on it, and to notify the affected worker in writing afterward.
What the Bill Would Actually Require
As reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune, SB 947 would restrict how California employers use automated decision systems in termination and disciplinary decisions, if signed, starting July 1, 2027. Under the measure, employers would be prohibited from relying exclusively on such systems to discipline or fire workers, according to the same reporting. The bill defines an automated decision system as any computational process derived from machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, or artificial intelligence used to assist or replace human discretionary decisionmaking, per the Union-Tribune's account, and it notes that these systems typically issue a simplified output, such as a score, classification, or recommendation, that materially impacts the person on the receiving end.
If an employer primarily relies on an automated system's output, it would have to direct a human to independently corroborate the decision using the data that produced the result or other relevant supporting information, the outlet reports. The systems' outputs would be based on data and other supporting information. An employer could not act on an automated output that cannot be corroborated, nor could it use an output that a human reviewer concludes is inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading, the paper notes.
Written Notice and What It Must Say
Separately from the corroboration requirement, employers using an automated decision system in a covered decision would need to give the affected worker timely, plain-language, written post-use notice, according to Crowell & Moring. That notice must state that the employee will not face retaliation for exercising rights under the law, per the Union-Tribune's reporting. It would also need to include human-reviewer contact information and details about the employee's right to access a description of the data the system used, the outlet reports.
Employers that primarily used an automated system would have to provide, upon an employee's request, a meaningful, objective description of that employee's own data used by the system, according to the Union-Tribune. The description would concern the employee's own data used by the system.
Banned Uses and Who Carries the Burden
The bill would also bar employers from using automated systems for certain purposes altogether. According to Crowell & Moring, an employer could not use such a system to conduct predictive behavior analysis, infer a worker's protected status, or take adverse action against a worker for exercising legal rights.
Penalties and Where the Bill Stands
Violations would carry a civil penalty of $500 per violation, the Union-Tribune reports, and Crowell & Moring notes that punitive damages and attorney's fees could also apply. State Senator Jerry McNerney reintroduced SB 947 on February 2, 2026, after Gov. Gavin Newsom had vetoed an earlier related bill, SB 7, according to Crowell & Moring. The California State Senate District 5 office says the bill would bar California employers from relying solely on automated decision-making systems to fire or discipline workers. The bill's author has said human oversight and independent verification would reduce the risks of relying on such systems alone.
SB 947 now awaits Gov. Newsom's signature or veto, the Union-Tribune reports.
