McNerney Introduces No Robo Bosses Act of 2026 to Ensure Human Oversight of AI in the Workplace

State Senator Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, on Monday introduced SB 947, the No Robo Bosses Act of 2026 — landmark legislation that would require human oversight of artificial intelligence systems in the workplace to prevent abuses.

SB 947 would bar California employers from relying solely on AI systems, known as automated decision-making systems (ADS), to fire or discipline workers. It would also require human oversight and independent verification when employers use ADS to assist in termination and disciplinary decisions.

In addition, SB 947 would prohibit the use of ADS systems that use personal information of workers to “predict” what they’ll do in the future. 

“Employers are increasingly using AI to boost productivity and achieve cost-savings, but there are no safeguards in place to prevent harm to workers,” said Sen. McNerney, a former longtime member of Congress who co-founded and co-chaired the Artificial Intelligence Caucus and authored the AI in Government Act. “SB 947establishes commonsense guardrails to ensure that California businesses are not relying on robo bosses to fire or discipline workers. AI must remain a tool controlled by humans, not the other way around.”

SB 947 is sponsored by the California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO. 

“Right now, there are absolutely no restrictions on how employers can use artificial intelligence to arbitrarily discipline and fire their workers. Employers are devastating workers’ livelihoods and taking no responsibility for the callous decisions of this unchecked technology,” said Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO. “This is unacceptable. We need stronger guardrails to make sure there is human review and oversight of any decision made by a machine that impacts a worker’s job and paycheck.”

Employers around the globe are increasingly employing ADS, but ADS, like other types of artificial intelligence, is prone to errors. For example, ADS has mistakenly terminated workers from their jobs. Also, some ADS systems use so-called “predictive behavior” models that collect personal data, use that data to profile an employee, and potentially initiate adverse actions against a worker based on what the AI “predicts” the worker will do.

SB 947 establishes necessary safeguards of AI in the workplace by:

• Barring employers from relying solely on ADS to make firing or disciplinary decisions.
• Requiring human oversight and independent verification for termination and disciplinary decisions.
• Prohibiting the use of ADS for predictive behavior analysis of workers.
• Mandating employers to inform workers if they have used ADS in termination or disciplinary decisions.

SB 947 is co-authored by Sen. Eloise Gómez Reyes, D-Colton.

SB 947 is a reboot of SB 7, similar legislation by Sen. McNerney in 2025. SB 7 won approval in both the Senate and Assembly but was vetoed by the governor. SB 947 includes changes to address the governor’s concerns with SB 7.

Sen. Jerry McNerney is chair of the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee and is a member of the Privacy, Digital Technologies, and Consumer Protection Committee, which has jurisdiction over AI bills. His 5th Senate District includes all of San Joaquin County and Alameda County’s Tri-Valley.