|
Amended
IN
Assembly
March 12, 2026 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 1898
| Introduced by Assembly Member Schultz |
February 12, 2026 |
An act to add Part 5.9 (commencing with Section 1600) to Division 2 of the Labor Code, relating to employment.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1898, as amended, Schultz.
Workplace artificial intelligence tools.
Existing law establishes the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement within the Department of Industrial Relations to administer and enforce various laws relating to employment and working conditions.
This bill would require an employer to provide a written notice to an employee that a workplace AI tool, as defined, was used to assist the employer in making employment-related decisions or to surveil the workplace. The bill would require the notice to be given to a worker within a specified time and would require the notice to contain specified information, including the specific employment-related decisions potentially affected by the use of the workplace AI tool. The bill would require an employer to maintain an updated list of all workplace AI tools currently in use and to provide the list to workers annually. The bill would provide for
enforcement by the Labor Commissioner or a public prosecutor, and alternatively would authorize any worker who has suffered damages, or their exclusive representative, to file a civil action for damages caused by the adverse action. The bill would establish remedies and penalties for violations, including a penalty of up to $500 per employee for each violation.
The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Part 5.9 (commencing with Section 1600) is added to Division 2 of the Labor Code, to read:PART 5.9. Artificial Intelligence Transparency at Work
1600.
For purposes of this part:(a) “Artificial intelligence” means an engineered or machine-based system that varies in its level of autonomy and that can, for explicit or implicit objectives, infer from the input it receives how to generate outputs that can influence physical or virtual environments.
(b) “Automated decision system” means any computational process derived from machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, or artificial intelligence that issues simplified output, including a score, classification, or recommendation, that is used to assist or replace human discretionary decisionmaking and materially impacts natural persons. An automated decision system does not include a spam email
filter, firewall, antivirus software, identity and access management tools, calculator, database, dataset, or other compilation of data.
(c) (1) “Employer” means any person who directly or indirectly, or through an agent or any other person, employs or exercises control over the wages, benefits, other compensation, hours, working conditions, access to work or job opportunities, or other terms or conditions of employment, of any worker. This shall include all branches of state government, or the several counties, cities and counties, and municipalities thereof, or any other political subdivision of the state, or a school district, or any special district, or any authority, commission, or board or any other agency or instrumentality thereof.
all cities, counties, and cities and counties, including charter cities and charter counties, special districts, transit districts, the University of California, the California State University, community college districts, school districts, and any other governmental entities.
(2) “Employer” includes a labor contractor of a person defined as an employer under paragraph (1).
(d) “Employment-related decision” means any decision by an employer that materially impacts a worker’s wages, benefits, compensation, work hours, work schedule, performance evaluation, hiring, discipline, promotion, termination, job tasks, skill requirements, work responsibilities, assignment of work, access to work and training opportunities, productivity requirements, or workplace health and safety.
(e) “Public prosecutor” has the same meaning as defined in Section 180.
(f) “Worker” means a natural person or an employee of, or an independent contractor providing service to, a business or a state or local governmental entity in a workplace.
(g) “Worker data” means any information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a covered worker, regardless of how the information is collected, inferred, or obtained.
(h) “Workplace AI tool” means an automated decision system or workplace surveillance tool.
(i) “Workplace surveillance tool” means any system, application, instrument, or device that collects or facilitates the collection of
worker data, activities, communications, actions, biometrics, or behaviors, or those of the public that are also capable of passively surveilling workers, by means other than direct observation by a person, including, but not limited to, video or audio surveillance, continuous incremental time-tracking tools, geolocation, electromagnetic tracking, photoelectronic tracking, or that utilizes a photo-optical system or other means.
1601.
(a) An employer shall provide a written notice that(b) The notice shall be given to a worker who will likely be directly or indirectly affected and to the exclusive bargaining representative of any affected worker according to the following:
(1) At least 90 days before a workplace AI tool is first deployed by the employer.
(2) If the employer is using an existing workplace AI tool on or before January 1, 2027, no later than February 1, 2027.
(3) To a new worker upon hire.
(c) An employer shall require a worker to sign to confirm they received and understand the notice. The employer shall not use the workplace AI tool subject to this section until affected workers return their signed notices.
(d) An employer shall maintain an updated list of all workplace AI tools currently in use and shall provide that list to workers annually.
(e) The notice shall satisfy all of the following:
(1) It shall be written in plain language as a separate, standalone
communication.
(2) It shall be written in the language in which routine communications and other information are provided to workers.
(3) It shall be provided via a simple and easy-to-use method, including, but not limited to, an email, hyperlink, or other written format.
(f) The notice shall contain all of the following information, as applicable:
(1) The purpose and justification for the use of the workplace AI tool.
(2) The specific employment-related decisions potentially affected by the use of the workplace AI tool.
(3) A description of any worker data collected by the workplace AI tool, the frequency of worker data
collection, and how, where, and the duration the worker data will be stored.
(4) A plain-language description of the workplace AI tool, including the input data it uses, the analysis and calculations it performs on the data, and the output data it generates.
(5) If and which persons can access worker data and if that data will be sold, transferred, or leased to other entities than the employer.
(6) A description of the general locations and the specific activities, communications, and job roles that will be surveilled and the technologies that will be used.
(7) The entity that created the workplace AI tool and the specific name of the model.
(8) A description of each quota set or measured
by the workplace AI tool to which the worker is subject, including the quantified number of tasks to be performed or products to be produced, and any potential adverse employment action that could result from failure to meet the quota, as well as whether those quotas are subject to change and if any notice is given of changes in quotas.
(9) Whether any jobs or job tasks will be replaced or automated by the workplace AI tool and the expected timeline of those impacts.
(10) The training given to managers or workers on the use of the workplace AI tool.
(11) The results of any risk assessments conducted on the workplace AI tool conducted as part of the employer’s compliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (Title 1.81.5 (commencing with Section 1798.100) of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code).
1602.
(a) The Labor Commissioner shall enforce this part, including investigating an alleged violation and ordering appropriate temporary relief to mitigate a violation or maintain the status quo pending the completion of a full investigation or hearing through the procedures set forth in Section 98, 98.3, 98.7, 98.74, or 1197.1, including issuing a citation against an employer who violates this section and filing a civil action. If a citation is issued, the procedures for issuing, contesting, and enforcing judgments for citations and civil penalties issued by the Labor Commissioner shall be the same as those set out in Section 98.74 or 1197.1, as applicable.(b) This part may also alternatively be enforced by a public prosecutor pursuant to Chapter 8
(commencing with Section 180) of Division 1.
(c) Alternatively to subdivision (a) or (b), any worker, or their exclusive representative, who has suffered a violation of this part may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction for damages caused by that adverse action, including punitive damages.
(d) In any civil action brought pursuant to subdivision (a), (b), or (c), the petitioner may seek appropriate temporary or preliminary injunctive relief, punitive damages, and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.
(e) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), in addition to any other remedy, an employer who violates this part may be subject to a penalty of up to five hundred dollars ($500) per employee for each violation.
(2) An employee, the Labor Commissioner, or a public prosecutor may recover a penalty under this part as a statutory penalty paid to the employee or a civil penalty, but not both, for the same violation.
(f) An action brought pursuant to this section may be brought in the superior court in any county in which the violation in question is alleged to have occurred or in which the employer resides or transacts business.
(g) This part does not preempt any city, county, or city and county ordinance that provides equal or greater protection to employees who are covered by this part.