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Committee advances bill limiting certain workplace surveillance and requiring human review
Summary
AB 12 21 passed from the committee after extended testimony from labor, privacy and business groups. The bill would ban some biometric and emotion‑recognition tools at work, require notice to workers, limit sharing of worker data, and require human corroboration before discipline based on algorithmic output.
AB 12 21, the workplace surveillance and worker‑data bill introduced by Assemblymember Bridal, cleared the Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee after a lengthy hearing with dozens of witnesses. The proposal would prohibit certain types of biometric surveillance in employment — including facial, gait and emotion recognition — restrict inference of protected characteristics, require notice to employees about monitoring tools, and mandate human corroboration before employers may use automated outputs for discipline.
Assemblymember Bridal said the bill preserves the benefits of technology while protecting worker privacy and safety. "We don't want to lose the humanity in the workplace…
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