CA SB 7 No Robo Bosses Act (vetoed 2025)
California SB 7 — No Robo Bosses Act: Employment Automated Decision Systems (VETOED)
CA · Cal. SB 7 (2025 Reg. Sess.) — vetoed Oct. 13, 2025
- Status
- Vetoed
- Applies to
- California employers using automated decision systems for covered employment actions — would have
- Enforced by
- Would have been California Labor Commissioner
California SB 7 ('No Robo Bosses Act'), authored by Sen. Jerry McNerney, would have required employers to give workers written notice before using automated decision systems (ADS) for employment decisions such as scheduling, discipline or termination, to tell job applicants when ADS is used in hiring, and to use a human reviewer when relying primarily on an ADS to discipline, fire or deactivate a worker. Workers could have requested a copy of their own data used in such decisions. It passed both chambers and was vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom on October 13, 2025; the Senate sustained the veto on March 2, 2026.
Who is protected: California employees and job applicants subject to automated employment decision systems — would have
Legal detail
SB 7 (McNerney, 2025-26 Reg. Sess.) — would have added Part 5.5.5 (§ 1520 et seq.) to the California Labor Code: (1) written pre-use notice to affected workers at least 30 days before an ADS is first deployed for non-hiring employment decisions, plus an updated list of ADS in use and notice to job applicants when ADS is used in hiring; (2) prohibited uses of ADS (e.g., to violate labor/civil-rights law or infer protected status); (3) when an employer relies primarily on ADS output for a discipline, termination or deactivation decision, a human reviewer must review the output and other relevant information; (4) written post-use notice to the affected worker and a right to request a copy of the most recent 12 months of the worker's own data used (once per 12 months); (5) anti-retaliation; enforcement by the Labor Commissioner with a $500 civil penalty. Vetoed October 13, 2025; veto sustained March 2, 2026. Successor bill SB 947 was enrolled and presented to the Governor on September 9, 2026.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | CA |
|---|---|
| Level | State |
| Citation | Cal. SB 7 (2025 Reg. Sess.) — vetoed Oct. 13, 2025 |
| Topics | automated decision-making · AI hiring and employment · AI disclosure and transparency |
| Bill text | California Legislature: SB 7 (2025 Session) — No Robo Bosses Act |
More AI rules in CA
- CA AB 2148 no-AI school employees (2026) · Enacted (not yet in effect)
- CA AG Bonta · In effect
- CA Bar GenAI Guidance · In effect
- CA CPPA ADMT Regs · In effect
- CPPA Honda ADMT settlement · In effect
- CA AB 1008 (CCPA + AI) · In effect
Related automated decision-making rules elsewhere
- CA EO N-6-26 (AI Workforce) · In effect
- Arkansas public entity AI/ADS policy mandate (Act 848, 2025) · In effect
- Connecticut algorithmic rent ban — HB 8002 (eff. Jan 1, 2026) · In effect
- San Diego algorithmic rent price-fixing ban (Ord. O-21955, May 2025) · In effect
- Minneapolis algorithmic rent ban (Ord. 2025-010, eff. Mar 1, 2026) · In effect
- Seattle algorithmic rent-fixing ban (Ord. 127241 / SMC 7.34, July 2025) · In effect
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