Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Legislature concluded the second year of its 2024-2026 session on September 1, 2026, and sent the last of its approved bills to Governor Newsom for consideration. The Governor has until September 30 to approve or veto fewer bills than we’ve seen in years, but those that remain will still impact employers in California.
On September 1, 2026, the California Legislature sent the last of its approved bills to Governor Newsom, who has until September 30 to decide which employment bills will become laws effective January 1, 2027 (or earlier as urgency legislation). Quite a bit lighter than in past years, and noticeably free of wage hour or PAGA legislation, the most significant bills for his consideration impacting employers address regulation of employers’ use of automated decision systems, changes to last year’s “stay or pay” law, temporary restraining orders, bereavement leave, and workplace surveillance.
Bills Already Signed Into Law
AB 2155 Validity of Agreements to Arbitrate
AB 2155, approved by the Governor June 30, 2026, makes arbitration agreements unenforceable under California law where the agreement would likewise be unenforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act, such as certain interstate commerce transportation worker agreements and claims relating to sexual harassment or sexual assault disputes.
The bill amended Section 1281 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
AB 1950 — Los Angeles Superior Court Civil actions: Mandatory Mediation
AB 1950, signed into law August 27, 2026, authorizes County of Los Angeles Superior Court judges to order cases into mediation regardless of the amount in controversy. Those cases will be entitled to up to three hours of in-person or remote no-cost mediation services through the court’s program. These provisions will be in effect January 1, 2027, through January 1, 2032. The legislation builds on the Court’s investment in alternative dispute resolution and the launch of its digital ADR platform in 2025, and is intended to assist with the Court’s 67% increase in civil filings since 2022.
This bill added Section 1775.16 to the Code of Civil Procedure.
SB 1316 — Labor Commissioner Liens and Hearing Evidence
SB 1316, signed into law August 27, 2026, authorizes the Labor Commissioner (LC) to renew a lien created on an employer’s real property to satisfy a wage order under Labor Code section 98.2 for an additional 10 years. The bill also prohibits employers from using records in certain LC proceedings under Section 1174.1—such as payroll, time, and employment records required to be maintained at the place of employment or at a central location within the state—that were not provided timely to the LC pursuant to a written request, unless the employer proactively obtained a court order excusing production. These evidence prohibitions are applicable in administrative proceedings contesting a citation for retaliation or discrimination complaints. SB 1316 also extends these evidentiary preclusions to contractors and subcontractors in hearings under Labor Code Section 1742.
This bill amended Sections 98.2 and 1174.1 of, and added Section 1742.05 to, the Labor Code.
AB 1928 — Postsecondary education sex discrimination and harassment complaints: support person for grievance hearings.
AB 1928, signed into law on August 27, 2026, authorizes students at postsecondary educational institutions that receive state financial assistance and state student financial aid to have a support person and advisor of their choice with them at any stage of the grievance process related to a sexual harassment complaint arising under state law and Title IX.
This bill amended Section 66281.8 of, and adds Section 66281.10 to, the Education Code.
Bills On the Governor’s Desk
SB 947 – “No Robo Bosses Act” Automated Decision Systems (ADS)
SB 947, beginning July 1, 2027, would prohibit employers from relying solely on an ADS when making employment-related decisions, and would require a human reviewer to conduct an independent investigation and compile corroborating information for disciplinary and termination decisions. If the ADS output cannot be corroborated, or a human reviewer concludes it is inaccurate or misleading, the employer would be prohibited from relying on it. The bill would also bar employers from using an ADS to (1) infer a worker’s protected status under FEHA, and (2) predict and take adverse action against a worker for exercising their legal rights. The bill would require post-use notice of ADS to affected employees, provide employees with a right to obtain a description of employee data primarily used by an ADS in a disciplinary or termination decision, and authorize enforcement through the Labor Commissioner, public prosecutors, and civil actions. “ADS” is defined as 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 decision-making.
This bill would add Part 5.5.5 (commencing with Section 1520) to Division 2 of the Labor Code.
SB 947 reintroduces some objectives of the broader SB 7 (vetoed in 2025). In other recent AI-related legislation, AB 1018 (2025) (which did not pass) would have required employers to provide employees with disclosures regarding AI-driven decisions and to give employees a chance to appeal the decision. AB 2930 of 2024 also proposed regulating the use of ADS in employment practices, including pay, promotion, hiring, termination, and task allocation. At that time, we previewed an expectation of more action on this topic in years to come, as the Governor’s veto message on non-employment AI bill AB 1047 previewed. We similarly expect AI legislation in the employment space and beyond to continue.
SB 951 – Cal/WARN: AI technological displacement notice.
SB 951 would revise Cal/WARN to require a Cal/WARN notice of a mass layoff, relocation, or termination caused in whole or in substantial part by an AI system (or other automated technology replacing or automating employment positions). This notice would need to state at the top: “This notice is for a technology displacement,” and include: (A) the number, classification or occupation, and work location of layoffs substantially due to AI or other automated technology; (B) the job functions performed by those replaced workers that will be automated; and (C) The specific category or type of AI system or other automating technology resulting in the technological displacement.
The final version of the bill retains the 60-day advance notice period and Cal/WARN coverage thresholds. The bill would require the Employment Development Department (EDD) to publish a summary of the notices received on its website and to post a quarterly statewide summary of technological displacements reported.
This bill would amend Sections 1400.5 and 1401 of, and add and repeal Section 1402.7 of, the Labor Code.
SB 574 – Attorneys’ Use of Generative AI
SB 574 would impose several limitations on attorneys’ AI use, and require attorneys to disclose their use of generative AI in court filings. The attorney conduct the bill would prohibit includes: (1) entering confidential, personal identifying, and other nonpublic information into a generative AI system where access is not restricted to the attorney or authorized users with the obligation to keep the information confidential; and (2) including in any paper filed in any court citations that have not been personally verified. The bill also would require an attorney to take reasonable steps to verify the accuracy of generative AI outputs and to correct any erroneous or hallucinated output. In addition to attorney conduct, the bill would prohibit an arbitrator from (1) delegating any part of their decision-making process to a generative AI tool, and (2) relying on information from generative AI outside the record without making appropriate disclosures to the parties beforehand.
This bill would amend Section 6173 of, and add Section 6068.1 to, the Business and Professions Code, and amend Section 128.7 of, and add Sections 180 and 1282.1 to the Code of Civil Procedure.
Leaves of Absence & Anti-Discrimination
AB 1940 – Adding Menopause to FEHA Definition of “Sex”
AB 1940 would add perimenopause, menopause, post-menopause or other related medical conditions to FEHA’s definition of sex, making those condition a protected category under the FEHA. The bill would also require the Civil Rights Department (CRD), by July 1, 2027, to update the poster notifying women of their rights relating to perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause.
This bill would amend Section 51 of the Civil Code and Sections 12926 and 12950 of the Government Code.
AB 2563 – Sex Discrimination Definition Harmonization
AB 2563 would create a consistent definition of “sex discrimination” across codes, to align the definition in FEHA, the Unruh Act, the Education Code, and more. The bill states it is declaratory of existing law, but would add menopause-related conditions to the definition of “sex” if AB 1940 is enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2027.
This bill would amend various sections of each impacted statute.
SB 1149 – Bereavement Leave for a “Designated Person”
Continuing the Legislature’s “designated person” theme for the fourth year in a row, SB 1149 would expand the persons for which an employee may take up to 5 days of unpaid (unless the employer’s policy provides for paid) bereavement leave to include the employee’s “designated person”. The designation would be made when the leave is taken. The bill would authorize an employer to limit an employee to one designated person per 12-month period.
This bill would amend Section 12945.7 of the Government Code.
AB 1803 – Mandating Anti-Hate Speech Training
AB 1803 would, beginning January 1, 2028, require that already-mandated sexual harassment training include, anti-hate speech training consisting of practical guidance on recognizing, reporting, and confronting workplace speech that vilifies, humiliates, or incites hatred against people based on FEHA protected characteristics.
This bill would amend Section 12950.1 of the Government Code.
AB 2495 would expand Labor Code Section 1019 to include prohibiting retaliation against any person for exercising or attempting to exercise any right under federal, state, and local statutes and regulations applicable to employees. Also, AB 2495 would make it unlawful for an employer or any other person to engage in conduct, related to any person’s perceived immigration status, that would reasonably tend to dissuade anyone from engaging in conduct that the person has a legal right to engage in under any federal, state, or local statute or regulation (applicable to employees), or to induce a person to engage in conduct where the person has a legal right to abstain. The bill would make an employer or other person who violates Section 1019 liable for a civil penalty not exceeding $10,000 per employee or person for each violation, to be awarded to the employee or person who suffered the violation. The $10,000 penalty is in addition to other remedies already provided by Labor Code Section 1019,
This bill would amend Section 1019 of the Labor Code.
Other Bills
AB 1697 – Stay-or-Pay Contract Provisions
AB 1697 would amend 2025’s trend-setting Anti-Trap law to make the bill’s restrictions on contracts effective for stay-or-pay contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2027, rather than January 1, 2026. The bill has an urgency clause such that it will go into effect immediately upon signing, but as it still sits on the Governor’s desk, employers have not received the immediate relief from the January 1, 2026 deadline for which they had hoped. The bill would also establish new exceptions to the stay-or-pay prohibition for (1) contracts entered into pursuant to a recruitment and retention program funded by a federal, state, or local government agency grant if the employee repayment obligations comply with the requirements of the grant and do not exceed the service obligations required by the grant; (2) repayment obligations arising from advanced paid time off upon voluntary separation (if conditions are met); and (3) contracts for the receipt of a discretionary or unearned monetary payment from the employer to induce the worker to be affiliated with the employer or to maintain a relationship with the employer between a securities broker-dealer, insurance producer, or investment adviser and its agents or representatives that are registered and licensed (if the contract satisfies certain conditions.)
This bill would amend Section 16608 of the Business and Professions Code, and amend Section 926 of the Labor Code.
AB 1331 & 1883 – Workplace Surveillance
AB 1331 would prohibit an employer from using a “workplace surveillance tool” for monitoring or surveilling employees in a workplace bathroom and allow employees to leave behind workplace surveillance tools when entering a workplace bathroom unless an employee is required to remain available during meal or rest periods, the employer has a policy requiring possession of the device for identification or safety reasons or for access to locked or secure areas if the device (a) does not detect or record audio or video and (b) does not have physically embedded or attached artificial intelligence.
“Workplace surveillance tool” is defined as a “system, application, instrument, or device that collects or facilitates the collection of employee data, activities, communications, actions, biometrics, or behaviors 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, a photo-optical system, or other means.” Smoke or carbon monoxide detectors and metal detectors are excluded.
AB 1883 would prohibit certain employers, including governmental entities, universities, labor contractors and their clients, from using a workplace surveillance tool that uses AI to collect neural data (such as gait analysis) or recognize an individual’s emotional state. There are exceptions for employers engaged in (1) the development of aircraft for use in the national airspace; and (2) the development of products or services for national security, military, space, or defense purposes where the use of a workplace surveillance tool is reasonably necessary to comply with a federal statute, a regulation, or binding federal contract.
Both bills would authorize the Labor Commissioner or a public prosecutor to enforce their provisions, and civil actions seeking injunctive relief, punitive damages, and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. In addition, employers who violate the bills’ provisions are subject to a civil penalty of up to $500 for each violation.
AB 1331 would add Part 5.8 (commencing with Section 1560) to Division 2 of the Labor Code, and AB 1883 would add Part 5.8 (commencing with Section 1580), to Division 2 of the Labor Code.
Restraining Order Bills
AB 2179 – Workplace Violence Restraining Orders
AB 2179 would, beginning on January 1, 2028, allow any party or witness to a petition for a restraining order to appear remotely at a hearing and would prohibit any fee for appearing remotely. The bill would require the court of each county to develop rules and instructions for such remote appearances and post them on its website. The bill would also, commencing on January 1, 2028, require courts to allow filings related to such protective orders to be submitted electronically, as specified. The bill would make conforming changes.
The bill would amend Section 527.8 of the Code of Civil Procedure and Section 6103.2 of the Government Code.
AB 1753 – Protective Orders: Firearms; Notice and Procedures
AB 1753 would require the petitioner for a TRO to provide prior notice to the respondent only if the court determine that requiring prior notice would not likely endanger the petitioner, proposed protected parties, or other persons. It would also require the applicant’s attorney to certify to the court under oath that providing notice to the party to be restrained in advance of filing the petition would likely endanger the safety of the petitioner or other persons, and require courts to permit a party or witness to appear remotely at a hearing for a workplace violence restraining order at no cost.
This bill would amend Sections 527.6, 527.8, 527.85 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
AB 1961 – TRO: Protecting A Group of Employees
AB 1961 would permit an employer to seek a such a TRO on behalf of a reasonably identifiable group of employees by their workplace or location – without having to identify an individual employee – if a credible threat of violence is generally directed at the employer’s workplace or at a group of employees.
This bill would amend Section 527.8 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Workplace Solutions
We will continue to keep you apprised through the September 30, 2026 bill signing deadline. Stay tuned for our end of session blog and sign up for our October 5, 2026 webinar in which we’ll explore the final slate of new laws. Please check back in with us here at Cal Peculiarities for regular check-ins on California policy and legislative updates.
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