California does not have one blanket rule requiring employers to tell every applicant or employee whenever an automated tool is used. The requirements depend on what the tool does and what employment action follows: rules effective October 1, 2025 address discrimination and recordkeeping; a 2026 bill summary describes a later notice requirement for certain discipline or termination decisions; and another bill summary addresses certain AI-related Cal/WARN displacement notices.
Which California rules apply, and when?
| Rule | Trigger described by the available sources | What it requires or describes | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil Rights Council regulations under FEHA | An automated decision system is used in an employment decision context. | Antidiscrimination protections and employment-record retention requirements apply. The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) sources do not establish a general notice to each applicant or employee that a tool was used. | Effective October 1, 2025. |
| SB 947 | An employer primarily relied on an automated decision system (ADS) for an employee discipline or termination decision. | The available bill summary describes written notice to the affected employee after use, plus a right to request a description of the employee data primarily used in the decision. | The bill summary states July 1, 2027. |
| SB 951 | A covered Cal/WARN displacement event is caused in whole or substantial part by AI or other automated technology replacing or automating positions. | The available bill summary describes additional notice information, including the job functions to be automated. | The exact operative details are not established by the available summary. |
The distinction matters: a hiring assessment, an individual termination decision, and a technology-related mass displacement are different legal situations. The summarized SB 947 and SB 951 provisions should not be treated as universal disclosure duties.
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What do the 2025 FEHA regulations require?
They apply discrimination protections to automated decision systems
The Civil Rights Council’s regulations clarify how existing California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) antidiscrimination protections apply when employers use AI, algorithms, or other automated decision systems. They cover employment decisions such as recruitment, hiring, and promotion. The rules are not limited to systems that make decisions entirely on their own: the final regulatory text also encompasses computational processes that make or facilitate human decisions about employment benefits.
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Examples identified in the final text include computer-based assessments, applicant screening or recommendations, targeted job advertising, résumé screening, interview analysis, and analysis of third-party applicant or employee data. Specified routine technologies that do not make an employment-benefit decision are excluded in certain circumstances. Whether a particular product or use falls within the definition depends on what it does in context, not simply whether it is marketed as “AI.”
They establish safeguards, not a general use-notice rule
The CRD describes the regulations as protecting against discrimination based on protected characteristics and requiring employers to retain employment records for at least four years, including automated-decision data. It also warns that tests or assessments that may elicit disability information can constitute unlawful medical inquiries. These are substantive protections and recordkeeping obligations; the cited CRD materials do not identify a general requirement to notify every applicant whenever an automated hiring tool is used.
CRD Director Kevin Kish said the regulations “aim to help our state’s antidiscrimination protections keep pace” with artificial intelligence in the workplace. The statement accompanied the agency’s June 30, 2025 announcement of approval for the regulations.
What does SB 947 say about discipline or termination?
Governor Gavin Newsom’s September 30, 2026 announcement lists SB 947, “Employment: automated decision systems,” among signed worker-protection measures. The Governor’s announcement summarizes the policy as prohibiting employers from relying only on AI for disciplinary action or termination and requiring real-person review.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteThe available 2026 bill summary describes a related but distinct notice trigger: when an employer primarily relied on an ADS to make a disciplinary or termination decision, the affected employee receives written notice after the use. The summary also describes the employee’s ability to request a description of that employee’s own data primarily used by the ADS in the decision. It gives July 1, 2027 as the start date.
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Those summaries support the high-level distinction between review, notice, and a data-description request; they do not establish all operational details. The exact chaptered statutory text should be consulted to determine the notice’s required contents, delivery deadline, definitions, exceptions, and enforcement. The summaries do not support treating this as a notice requirement for every automated hiring decision.
When does SB 951 affect a Cal/WARN notice?
SB 951 addresses a different setting from an individual discipline or termination decision. The Governor identifies it as “Employment: technological displacement: notice.” The available bill summary describes additional Cal/WARN notice requirements for a mass layoff, relocation, or termination caused in whole or substantial part by AI or other automated technology replacing or automating positions. Among the information it says must be included is the job function or functions to be automated.
This is a displacement-related notice, not a per-applicant disclosure about hiring software. The summary alone does not establish the covered-employer thresholds, complete required information, exceptions, or operative date. Employers assessing a particular event need the enacted text and applicable agency guidance rather than assumptions based on the bill’s general description.
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- If you are applying for a job: the CRD materials reviewed do not establish a general right to be told each time an employer uses an automated screening or assessment tool. FEHA protections still apply to covered employment decisions.
- If you face discipline or termination: SB 947’s available summary describes a written postuse notice and a request right for data used in certain decisions, with a July 1, 2027 start date. The precise statutory requirements should be checked for a decision made on or after that date.
- If your position is affected by a technology-related displacement: SB 951’s summary concerns additional information in certain Cal/WARN notices. Whether it applies depends on the covered event and the enacted statutory terms.
- If you are an employer: distinguish routine hiring use, an individual discipline or termination decision, and a qualifying displacement event. Preserve relevant employment and automated-decision records under applicable rules, and verify the bill text and guidance before setting notice procedures.
This is a summary of the cited California agency materials and 2026 bill summaries, not a determination that a particular employer, system, or employment action is covered.
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