California workers will head into 2027 with new protections governing how they’re monitored, disciplined, and paid, as well as how they exercise their workplace rights. State lawmakers have been tackling emerging concerns such as artificial intelligence in the workplace while also revisiting longstanding issues including forced arbitration, immigration-related retaliation, leave, and wages.
The result is a collection of new laws that could affect workers from the moment they apply for a job through the day they leave one. Here’s what you need to know.
Your Boss Can’t Leave Certain Firing Decisions to an Algorithm
One of the most consequential laws is the No Robo Bosses Act. It ensures that AI doesn’t make disciplinary and termination decisions on its own by requiring human involvement. Employers are allowed to use algorithms, but they have to be transparent about it and a human must review and sign off on the algorithm’s decision.
The No Robo Bosses Act, or Senate Bill 947, also limits how employers use AI systems. For example, an employer can’t use an algorithm to infer whether you have characteristics that are protected by California’s broad anti-discrimination law or preemptively punish you because it expects that you might exercise a workplace right.
The No Robo Bosses Act takes effect on July 1, 2027.
New Limits on Workplace Surveillance
Two new laws limit how employers can monitor workers. Assembly Bill 1883 prohibits AI-powered tools that assess your emotional state or collect neural data. To demonstrate the need for the law, its author, Assembly Member Isaac Bryan, noted that call center workers are monitored to ensure they are “happy” and “receptive” with customers. He also warned that technologies analyzing workers’ physical characteristics can produce discriminatory results because of their poor track record of recognizing people of color.
AB 1331 protects a different kind of privacy. It generally prohibits employers from monitoring workers with surveillance technology in workplace bathrooms. The prohibition reaches beyond cameras to other forms of electronic monitoring, including location tracking and continuous time- and pace-tracking tools.
Both laws take effect on January 1, 2027.
Workers Get More Information When Automation Leads to Mass Layoffs
Amid fears of job losses from AI, SB 951 requires transparency when employers lay off workers because of the emerging technology. Under California’s existing law, employers must give 60 days’ advance notice of certain mass layoffs, relocations, or terminations.
Beginning January 1, 2027, that notice must disclose when a covered event is caused “in whole or in substantial part” by AI or other automated technology that replaces workers or automates their jobs.
New Rules Limit “Stay-or-Pay” Employment Agreements
California amended its ban on stay-or-pay contracts, which are employment provisions that require workers to repay expenses such as training costs if they leave within a certain time. These provisions are known as TRAPs, or Training Repayment Agreement Provisions, because they can financially trap employees.
AB 1697 is meant to give workers more freedom to leave a job without facing a large bill on the way out. Beginning on January 1, 2027, employers generally can’t require workers to repay a debt simply because their employment ends, although there are exceptions for some bonuses and tuition payments. It also does not cover certain financial services workers.
California originally passed the ban in 2025 and it was set to take effect on January 1, 2026. AB 1697 wipes out any claims that may have arisen in 2026.
Stronger Protections Against Immigration-Related Retaliation
AB 2495 makes it illegal to use a worker’s perceived immigration status to scare them out of exercising their workplace rights. An employer can’t use immigration-related threats or pressure to discourage a worker from complaining about a workplace violation, asking about their rights, or otherwise doing something the law allows them to do.
That’s an expansion of existing California law, which already prohibited immigration-related retaliation after workers exercised certain rights. The new law targets efforts to silence workers before they speak up.
AB 2495 takes effect on January 1, 2027.
Bereavement and Family Leave Protections Are Expanding
Two new laws expand the circumstances in which California workers can take time away from work when life happens.
SB 1149 expands California’s bereavement leave law to recognize families that don’t fit traditional definitions. Beginning January 1, 2027, you can take bereavement leave after the death of a “designated person.” That can be a blood relative or someone whose relationship with you is equivalent to family. Your employer may limit you to one designated person per year and make the time off unpaid.
AB 2054 expands the state’s paid family leave program to pay benefits when you need to take off to support a relative who’s in the military and called to active duty. The program will cover domestic and foreign deployments and training, including service by members of the National Guard and reserves. The expansion begins July 1, 2028, or earlier if the state’s Employment Development Department updates the PFL claims system before then.
New Protection from Forced Arbitration
Some workers have a right under federal law to avoid forced arbitration, including workers with sexual harassment or sexual assault claims and some transportation workers. AB 2155 makes clear that employers can’t get around those federal protections by trying to enforce an arbitration agreement under California law instead.
Forced arbitration strips workers of their right to sue their employers in court, instead requiring them to pursue claims through a private process without a judge, jury, or right to appeal. Because arbitration awards generally aren’t public or appealable, and workers are often prohibited from bringing class or collective claims, workplace violations can be harder to expose and challenge on a broader scale.
AB 2155 goes into effect on January 1, 2027.
Agriculture Guest Workers’ Minimum Wage Goes Back Up
Foreign workers in the U.S. on H-2A visas will get a higher minimum wage in California beginning January 1, 2027. The H-2A program brings foreign workers to the U.S. for temporary or seasonal agricultural work.
AB 2646 sets their minimum wage at $19.75 per hour, restoring much of what workers lost after the U.S. Department of Labor changed its wage rules in 2025. The change left California’s statewide minimum wage, which was $16.90 in 2026, as the wage floor for affected H-2A workers. The new $19.75 minimum also applies to California farmworkers who perform the same or substantially similar work alongside H-2A workers.
Criminal Record Relief Could Help More Job Seekers
California is expanding automatic protections for people whose criminal charges were dismissed. SB 1342 makes dismissed felony charges eligible for the state’s automatic arrest-record protections, which generally limit when qualifying records can be disclosed and how they can be used against you.
Current law already provides automatic protection when misdemeanor charges are dismissed, as well as in some other cases that don’t result in convictions. Starting October 1, 2029, dismissed felony charges qualify too. An arrest without a conviction can cause unnecessary stigma and create barriers to employment, which SB 1342 aims to reduce.
Learn More About Your Employee Rights
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This article is provided for general informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and may not reflect the most current law or apply to your facts or jurisdiction. Reading this article or using this website does not create an attorney-client relationship with Outten & Golden LLP. You should consult a qualified attorney about your specific situation.
