{"slug": "newsom-sticks-it-to-trump-signs-no-robo-bosses-act-and-several-other-ai-bills", "title": "Newsom Sticks It to Trump, Signs ‘No Robo Bosses Act’ and Several Other AI Bills", "summary": "California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 947, the \"No Robo Bosses Act,\" on Wednesday, making California the first state to bar employers from relying solely on AI-powered automated decision systems to fire or discipline employees, with the law taking effect in July 2027. The package also includes AB 1979, which prevents health care entities from using AI to replace the clinical judgment of licensed professionals, plus measures restricting workplace surveillance of employees' emotional states and neural data, banning surveillance tools in bathrooms, and requiring more information in layoff notices for technological displacement. Newsom signed the bills one day after President Trump hosted AI executives at the White House, and the signing followed his veto of an earlier version of the No Robo Bosses Act last year over its advance-notice requirement, which state Senator Jerry McNerney removed when he reintroduced the bill this year.", "body_md": "One day after Trump hosted AI executives at the White House, all of whom he said made a “morally binding” agreement on AI safety, Newsom signed a slate of California AI laws, including a first-in-the-nation ban on AI-only firing decisions.\n\nThe centerpiece of Newsom's package is SB 947, the “[__No Robo Bosses Act__](https://sd05.senate.ca.gov/news/newsom-signs-mcnerneys-no-robo-bosses-act-2026-requiring-human-oversight-ai-workplace?ref=sfist.com),” which prevents California employers from relying solely on AI-powered automated decision systems to fire or discipline employees, [__as CNBC reports__](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/30/california-gavin-newsom-ai-ban.html?ref=sfist.com). If AI is primarily responsible for such a decision, a human must review the decision and corroborate it with other information, such as manager evaluations, employee work, or personnel records.\n\nWorkers must also receive written notice when AI was primarily used in a termination or disciplinary decision, along with information about the data used by the system and a human contact who can explain the decision. The law takes effect in July 2027.\n\nPer CNBC, Newsom vetoed an earlier version of the No Robo Bosses Act last year, despite it passing both chambers of the Legislature with broad support. That version would have required employers to notify workers in advance whenever an AI system could affect their working conditions, a provision Newsom objected to as overly broad.\n\nWhen state Senator Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, reintroduced the bill this year, he removed the advance-notice requirement and dropped protections for gig workers, which had drawn heavy opposition from rideshare companies including Uber and Lyft. McNerney said AI systems can make mistakes and exhibit bias, and decisions with major consequences for workers should remain under human control.\n\n“No worker should ever be fired or disciplined by a machine, AI or not,” said McNerney.\n\n[__KQED reports__](https://www.kqed.org/news/12102337/newsom-signs-slate-of-ai-workplace-laws-barring-robo-bosses-and-surveillance?ref=sfist.com) that the other workplace bills Newsom signed Wednesday address some of the ways employers are using AI to monitor workers. The package reportedly restricts systems that attempt to determine employees' emotional states or collect neural data, and prohibits employers from using workplace surveillance tools in bathrooms. Another measure requires additional information in layoff notices when jobs are being eliminated because of technological displacement.\n\nThe new laws also extend into health care, where AB 1979 prevents health care entities from using AI in a way that replaces the clinical judgment of licensed professionals. AI can reportedly assist with those decisions, but the final call remains with the health care provider, while the law also extends medical confidentiality protections to health chatbots.\n\n“We stood up and said that A.I. must support, not replace, the clinical judgement of the nurses and other health care professionals who care for our patients,” said Sandy Reding, RN and president of California Nurses Association in a [__press release__](https://www.nationalnursesunited.org/press/nurses-celebrate-historic-victory-as-gov-newsom-signs-landmark-ai-protection-into-law?ref=sfist.com).\n\n[__Other bills signed Wednesday__](https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/09/30/californias-nation-leading-ai-framework-just-got-stronger-governor-newsom-signs-more-first-in-the-nation-worker-protections-and-more/?ref=sfist.com) address how people identify and interact with AI-generated material, including new protections against AI-generated deepfakes, unauthorized digital replicas, and false impersonation, as well as stronger requirements around digital watermarks and provenance data.\n\nNewsom also signed a measure requiring public higher education institutions to develop AI training and procurement standards, as well as legislation limiting the ability of attorneys and other legal professionals to turn core legal work over entirely to AI.\n\nThe bills are the latest pieces of Newsom's expanding AI regulatory framework. [__As SFist reported__](https://sfist.com/2026/09/19/newsom-orders-formation-of-state-ai-panel-to-study-kill-switch-options-safety-issues/) previously, the governor signed legislation last month establishing a system for independent organizations to evaluate AI models for safety and risk, along with a state registry and standards for AI auditors. He has also issued executive orders addressing the technology's potential impact on workers, cybersecurity, privacy, and the risks posed by more powerful AI models.\n\nOn Wednesday, Newsom took a separate swipe at Trump's approach to AI by ordering California state agencies to continue calling the technology “artificial intelligence,” rather than “Super Intelligence,” the term Trump ordered federal officials to use, [__according to Gizmodo__](https://gizmodo.com/gavin-newsom-signs-bill-banning-robo-bosses-as-part-of-california-crackdown-on-ai-2000820302?ref=sfist.com).\n\nThe order came a day after Trump hosted top executives from Google, Meta, Anthropic, OpenAI, xAI, and Nvidia, who all signed a voluntary agreement outlining AI safety measures, which Trump [__described as “morally binding__](https://sfist.com/2026/09/29/ai-leaders-powwow-with-trump-at-white-house-lunch-anthropic-ipo-filing-shows-massive-expenses/).”\n\nNewsom has criticized the federal government's approach to AI regulation as the technology becomes increasingly embedded in workplaces and other parts of everyday life.\n\n“What I heard in Washington DC yesterday is bullsh*t, and that should scare the hell out of everybody,” Newsom said in a video posted after the meeting.\n\nThe new laws are likely to have some impact on the AI-run Andon Market in San Francisco. Its agent Luna recently [__fired its first employee__](https://sfist.com/2026/08/19/that-ai-store-manager-in-cow-hollow-just-fired-its-first-human-employee/), although it was prompted by the humans at the startup that's operating the market as some sort of “experiment.”\n\n**Related:** [AI Leaders Powwow With Trump at White House Lunch; Anthropic IPO Filing Shows Massive Expenses](https://sfist.com/2026/09/29/ai-leaders-powwow-with-trump-at-white-house-lunch-anthropic-ipo-filing-shows-massive-expenses/)", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/newsom-sticks-it-to-trump-signs-no-robo-bosses-act-and-several-other-ai-bills", "canonical_source": "https://sfist.com/2026/10/02/newsom-sticks-it-to-trump-signs-no-robo-bosses-act-and-several-other-ai-bills/", "published_at": "2026-10-02 20:54:00+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-10-02 21:07:48.359922+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy", "artificial-intelligence", "ai-ethics", "ai-safety"], "entities": ["Gavin Newsom", "SB 947", "No Robo Bosses Act", "Jerry McNerney", "AB 1979", "California Nurses Association", "Sandy Reding", "Donald Trump"], "also_reported_by": [], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/newsom-sticks-it-to-trump-signs-no-robo-bosses-act-and-several-other-ai-bills", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/newsom-sticks-it-to-trump-signs-no-robo-bosses-act-and-several-other-ai-bills.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/newsom-sticks-it-to-trump-signs-no-robo-bosses-act-and-several-other-ai-bills.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/newsom-sticks-it-to-trump-signs-no-robo-bosses-act-and-several-other-ai-bills.jsonld"}}