Regulators are trying to protect you from being fired by AI – here’s how

California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed SB 947, nicknamed the "No Robo Bosses Act." The law bars employers from fully delegating disciplinary and termination decisions to automated decision systems (ADS) and requires human verification of any AI output used for those decisions. It takes effect on July 1, 2027.

Under the bill, employers must provide the employee with a description of the reasons for the decision, including any data used, such as personnel files, evaluations, work product, peer reviews, and witness interviews. If an employer cannot corroborate the ADS output, or a human reviewer finds it inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading, the output cannot be used for a disciplinary or termination decision. The law also requires employers to clarify whether a mass layoff, relocation, or termination is caused by an AI system. Employees who believe the process was not followed can file complaints with the California Labor Commissioner. The law does not fully prohibit automated systems for these determinations.

A survey by MyPerfectResume of 1,000 HR professionals found that 73% use AI to make hiring decisions, 52% use it to inform restructuring and role planning, and 51% use it to flag "risky" candidates. Only 26% said they do not use AI to make decisions about layoffs.

Regulation elsewhere varies. Colorado and Connecticut mandate disclosure of AI use rather than intervention, while Illinois this summer became the first state to require third-party audits of frontier labs. Lily Li, an AI lawyer and founder of Metaverse Law, told ZDNET she expects California's law to set a precedent for other states, but anticipates employers may perform check-the-box reviews instead of meaningful human review to avoid added operational costs. She said the ability for an employee to request an explanation is a helpful check.

Why it matters: Employers in California will need to document human review of AI-backed discipline and termination decisions by mid-2027, and workers gain a complaint path through the Labor Commissioner. Until federal rules arrive, protections will remain a state-by-state patchwork.