California lawmaker introduces "No Robo Bosses Act" to regulate AI in the workplace
A Northern California lawmaker has introduced a proposal seeking to regulate artificial intelligence used to manage employees in the workplace, including a ban on using software to hire and fire employees without human oversight.
State Sen. Jerry McNerney (D-Pleasanton) announced Senate Bill 7, which he dubbed the "No Robot Bosses Act." McNerney said the measure aims to regulate automated decision-making systems (ADS) powered by AI.
"Businesses are increasingly using AI to boost efficiency and productivity in the workplace. But there are currently no safeguards to prevent machines from unjustly or illegally impacting workers' livelihoods and working conditions," the senator said in a statement.
McNerney stressed that the measure does not prohibit ADS. "AI must remain a tool controlled by humans, not the other way around," he went on to say.
Under the senator's proposal, the measure would require human oversight and independent verification for promotion, demotion, firing and disciplinary decision using ADS tools.
The proposal would also bar such systems from predictive behavior analysis based on a worker's personal information that results in an "adverse action" against a worker. Systems would also be barred from obtaining or inferring a worker's immigration status, ancestral history, health history, credit history or other statuses protected by state law.
Employees would also be able to appeal decisions made by ADS under the measure.
In McNerney's statement, the lawmaker cited examples of software prioritizing efficiency and cost-savings over worker health and safety, including gig-nursing apps that set hours and wages without human oversight, along with software mistakenly firing people from their jobs.
"No worker should have to answer to a robot boss when they are fearful of getting injured on the job, or when they have to go to the bathroom or leave work for an emergency," said Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO, which is backing the measure.
If approved, Senate Bill 7 would be the first law of its kind in the country.
The senator's office did not say when the measure would be considered in the legislature.
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