Shaping AI’s effect on employment in California

Authored by Senator Jerry McNerney (D-Pleasanton) and co-authored by Reyes and Assemblymember Chris Ward (D-San Diego), SB 947, the No Robo Bosses Act, would limit the way employers in California can use automated decision systems, or ADS, to make decisions on disciplining, terminating or deactivating employees and workers. In this case, deactivation refers to the accounts of app-based workers, such as rideshare and delivery drivers.

“It concerns me that we would be using these automated decision-making systems to discipline and fire people without a human being in the loop,” McNerney said. “They can be used, and they can be helpful, but I want to make sure there’s human beings in the loop because we’re using these systems that have a great impact on people’s lives.”

McNerney said that it is important to keep humans in the loop because they have “understanding and compassion,” which bring perspective to an employee’s performance at work.

“They’re not going to use just hard and cold data,” McNerney said. “Human beings can understand how a worker is being productive even if they miss certain metrics.”

For the full report, click here.