California Enacts New Laws to Protect Workers From AI Risks

By The Financial District

30 minutes ago

2 min read

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a package of laws aimed at protecting workers from potential risks associated with artificial intelligence, including workplace surveillance, automated employment decisions and AI-related layoffs.

The measures, signed on Sept. 30, restrict employers from using AI to infer a worker's emotional state from biometric information.

They also require written notice to workers when AI is responsible for mass layoffs and prohibit employers from relying solely on AI to make firing decisions. The laws come as employers increasingly use AI tools in recruitment, workplace monitoring and other human-resources functions.

“AI should expand opportunity — not come at the expense of workers and families,” Newsom said in a statement. “As this technology reshapes the workplace, California is putting people at the center.”

Newsom also signed an executive order directing state agencies to continue using the term “artificial intelligence” rather than “super intelligence.”

The terminology change responds to an executive order from President Donald Trump directing federal agencies to use “super intelligence” rather than “artificial intelligence” in certain contexts.

Newsom criticized the Trump administration for relying on voluntary industry measures rather than pursuing comprehensive federal AI regulation.

Trump had recently hosted technology executives at the White House, where companies agreed to a voluntary framework for AI safety. The agreement does not have the force of federal law.

California has also adopted other AI-related measures.

Earlier legislation requires certain AI chatbot operators to conduct risk assessments before deployment, while the state has issued additional directives concerning AI oversight.

The new workplace laws make California one of the states attempting to establish specific rules governing how employers can use AI in employment decisions.