California enacts new laws restricting employer use of AI on workers

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a package of laws on Wednesday aimed at protecting workers from potential harms linked to the growing use of artificial intelligence in the workplace, including job losses and intrusive monitoring.

The new measures bar employers from using AI systems to infer a worker's emotional state through biometric data such as facial expressions or voice patterns. They also require companies to notify employees in writing when artificial intelligence is responsible for mass layoffs, giving workers advance notice rather than learning after the fact that automated systems drove the decision.

A further provision prohibits employers from relying solely on AI tools to make the final call to terminate an employee, a response to growing concern that automated decision-making can remove human judgment and accountability from high-stakes personnel decisions.

Criticism of federal inaction

In signing the bills, Newsom was sharply critical of President Donald Trump's administration for failing to advance comprehensive federal regulation of artificial intelligence, framing California's action as a necessary response to a policy vacuum in Washington.

California has positioned itself as a leader among U.S. states in regulating emerging AI technology, and the new worker-protection laws add to a growing body of state-level rules governing how businesses can deploy automated systems as adoption of generative and predictive AI tools accelerates across industries.

Labor advocates have pushed for similar safeguards nationally, arguing that without clear rules, workers face unchecked surveillance and opaque automated decisions affecting their jobs. The California laws are likely to be watched closely by other states considering their own AI workplace legislation.