AB 1898: 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 a worker that a workplace AI tool, as defined, was used to assist the employer in making employment-related decisions or to surveil workers in 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 likely to be 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 their impact on jobs, as specified, 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.