Newsom Signs Revamped ‘No Robo Bosses Act’ Into Law

California has new restrictions on using AI to discipline or fire workers after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a revamped version of the state’s “No Robo Bosses Act.”

Newsom signed Senate Bill 947 (SB 947) on Sept. 30, establishing what its author says is the nation’s first law requiring human oversight when automated decision systems are used in employee discipline and termination decisions. The law takes effect July 1, 2027. SHRM strongly opposed the bill and will be weighing in on its implementation.  

Under SB 947, employers may not rely solely on an automated decision system (ADS) to discipline or terminate an employee. When an employer “primarily relies” on an automated system, a human reviewer must examine and corroborate the decision using additional information. That could include managerial evaluations, personnel records, employee work product, peer reviews, or witness interviews.

If the automated system’s output cannot be corroborated — or a human reviewer determines that it is inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading — the employer cannot use that output as the basis for discipline or termination.

Toolkit: Using AI for Employment Purposes

The law also establishes transparency requirements. When an employer primarily relies on an ADS in a disciplinary or termination decision, the affected worker must receive written notice explaining that reliance and confirming that a human reviewed and corroborated the decision. Employees must also receive information about how to contact a person who can provide additional information and about their right to request a meaningful description of the employee data used by the system.

SB 947 defines an ADS broadly as a computational process derived from technologies including machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, or artificial intelligence that produces an output — such as a score, classification, or recommendation — used to assist or replace human discretionary decision-making. The definition excludes common technologies such as calculators, databases, spam filters, firewalls, and antivirus software.

The law additionally prohibits employers from using automated systems to infer an employee’s protected status under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act or to predict and take adverse action against workers for exercising protected legal rights.

A Second Try for the ‘Robo Bosses’ Bill

The legislation represents lawmakers’ second attempt to impose broad guardrails on algorithmic management.

Newsom vetoed the original No Robo Bosses Act, Senate Bill 7 (SB 7), in October 2025. Although he said he shared lawmakers’ concerns about automated workplace decision-making, Newsom argued that the measure imposed “unfocused notification requirements” on businesses using even relatively innocuous technologies and placed overly broad restrictions on employers’ use of automated systems.

Sen. Jerry McNerney, a Democrat from Pleasanton, returned this year with SB 947, revising the legislation in response to those concerns. The new version eliminated some of the broader advance-notification requirements and focused more closely on automated systems used in consequential disciplinary and termination decisions.

The law arrives as California expands its regulation of AI in the workplace. Newsom also signed measures requiring additional disclosure when AI contributes to mass layoffs and restricting certain forms of AI-powered employee surveillance.

Research: Automation, AI, and Job Displacement Risk in U.S. Employment

For HR departments, SB 947 means human involvement cannot simply amount to rubber-stamping an algorithm’s recommendation. Employers using automated tools in disciplinary processes will need procedures for independently reviewing the underlying information, documenting corroboration, and providing required notices to employees.

With the July 2027 effective date approaching, employers have time to inventory the automated tools used in HR and management decisions and determine where AI-generated scores, recommendations, or classifications influence discipline and termination.