California Labor Unions Demand Transparency and Human Oversight of Artificial Intelligence with New Legislation

Release Date: February 3, 2026

Media Contact: Shubhangi Domokos, [email protected], (916) 934-6963

California Labor Unions Demand Transparency and Human Oversight of Artificial Intelligence with New Legislation

No Robo Bosses Act is a reintroduction of legislation which passed last year but was vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom

Sacramento, CA - (Tuesday, February 3, 2026) - The California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO on Monday unveiled its first package of sponsored legislation aimed at shedding light on employers' use of artificial intelligence (AI) and establishing guardrails to curb some of the worst abuses of this new technology.

The first bill, Senate Bill 951, the "AI Job Killer Notice Act," by Sen. Eloise Gómez Reyes, D-Colton, is a bill that provides much-needed transparency and information to policy makers and the public. It does so by requiring employers to provide advance notice to their workers, as well as their local government and the Employment Development Department, of any planned layoffs or reductions in hiring as a result of employers using AI.

"Billionaire CEOs using technology to replace their workers is nothing new. NAFTA and unchecked deindustrialization devastated working class communities, leading to mass unemployment. Artificial intelligence threatens to do worse. Every passing month, more employers are using AI to automate, erode, and eliminate jobs with zero oversight," said Lorena Gonzalez, President of California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO. "We need data on which jobs and industries are impacted by AI layoffs and hiring freezes and what tools are being used to replace workers. SB 951 will track the real impact AI is having on workers' livelihoods and help rein in automation before it devastates another generation of workers."

This bill comes as employers such as Amazon, Salesforceand Dow Chemical, among others, have announced either mass layoffs or mass reductions in hiring as a result of putting profits over AI and automation. This bill would update the current California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act to include technological, and not just industrial, layoffs.

Under SB X, the EDD will then collect and compile this data and provide an overview of just how AI impacts jobs and hiring decisions, giving the public and policy makers a clearer view of the impact of employers conducting layoffs due to AI and displacing workers in the state.

The second bill, SB 947, should be a familiar one to Capitol watchers. It is the return of the "No Robo Bosses Act," which prohibits employers from using AI to either discipline or terminate employees without human oversight. That bill is authored by Sen. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton.

"Right now, there are absolutely no restrictions on how employers can use artificial intelligence to arbitrarily discipline and fire their workers. Employers are devastating workers' livelihoods and taking no responsibility for the callous decisions of this unchecked technology," said Lorena Gonzalez, President of the California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO. "This is unacceptable. We need stronger guardrails to make sure there is human review and oversight of any decision made by a machine that impacts a worker's job and paycheck."

This is a simple, commonsense bill, and one that has already passed out of both houses of the Legislaturelast year in the form of Senate Bill 7. While Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed SB 7 last year, workers cannot go another year being subject to untested and unregulated technologies in the workplace. Artificial Intelligence, especially when making decisions about a person's livelihood, urgently needs human oversight.

The California Federation of Labor Unions plans to unveil more sponsored legislation in the coming weeks that establishes first-time guardrails against employers' use of artificial intelligence in the workplace.

For more information, or to set up an interview with Lorena Gonzalez to discuss these bills, please contact Shubhangi Domokos, [email protected].

The California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO represents over 1,300 affiliated unions in California with over 2.3 million union members in trucking, retail, hospitality, janitorial, construction, health care, local and state government, education, arts and entertainment, warehousing and logistics, manufacturing, and a variety of other sectors.

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