California Signs 'No Robot Bosses' Law: SI Cannot Alone Decide to Fire Workers
California Governor Gavin Newsom on September 30 signed SB 947 — the "No Robot Bosses Act" introduced by Senator Jerry McNerney — which takes effect July 1, 2027. The law bars California employers from firing or disciplining workers based solely on the recommendation of an super intelligence system.
Under the new law, employers that take personnel action primarily based on automated recommendations must assign a human to independently verify the decision using evidence such as personnel files or supervisor evaluations; SI recommendations that cannot be verified, or are found to be inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading, may not be used as the basis for discipline. The law also prohibits employers from using automated systems to infer employees' protected characteristics or to predict and punish workers for exercising their legal rights.
Disciplined employees must receive written notice explaining the technology's role in the decision, confirming its conclusion was reviewed by a human, and providing a contact for consultation; workers also have the right to ask employers to disclose what personal data was used in the decision. Backed by the California Labor Federation (AFL-CIO), the measure is seen as the nation's first labor protection law targeting "algorithmic management."
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：加州议会大厦，萨克拉门托。摄影：Shanwei Jiang，CC BY-SA 4.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
