Committee advances SB 7 to require notice and human review when employers use automated decision systems for discipline or termination

The committee voted 5-0 to advance SB 7, a bill aimed at restricting certain uses of automated decision systems (ADS) in employment actions such as discipline and termination and requiring notice and human oversight.

Senator McNerney (presenting SB 7) described the measure as "common sense guardrails" that would require employers to notify applicants and workers before using ADS and "ensure there's a human being in the loop for discipline and termination decisions." The senator and witnesses said the bill was narrowed in response to stakeholder concerns: it applies to employers who use ADS (not vendors) and focuses on discipline or termination rather than all employment decisions.

Yvonne Fernandez of the California Federation of Labor said ADS can be used to monitor, speed up and control workers and warned they can "automatically generate paperwork to fire" workers in ways that do not reflect real-life context. Shane Guzman for the Teamsters and other unions said removing the human element from life-altering employment decisions harms workers nd urged committee support. Opponents including the Society for Human Resource Management, California Chamber of Commerce and other business groups raised concerns about the bill's scope (for example, inclusion of independent contractors, breadth of the ADS definition, and impacts on small employers) and the complexity of compliance.

Senator McNerney said the bill excludes assignment decisions and that the appeal and human-review provisions target meaningful review for discipline and termination. The committee recorded a roll-call vote advancing the bill to the Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection. The transcript shows Ortega, El Hawari, Kalra, Lee and Ward voting aye; the secretary announced the motion to "pass and be re-referred to the Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection."