RCRC has joined with public agency partners to oppose Senate Bill 951 by Senator Eloise Gomez Reyes (D-San Bernardino), unless amended to remove public agencies. This bill would require notice for workforce displacement or termination due to the adoption of certain technologies without making distinction between public and private employers.
Specifically, SB 951 would require an employer to provide EDD with a written technology hiring disruption notice that contains all of specified information about the employer’s use of AI or other automation when that employer executes a technological cessation in hiring, and the notice would be provided publicly similar to WARN Act notices. The bill would make an employer who fails to give a written technology hiring disruption notice when it executes a technological cessation in hiring liable for a civil penalty of up to $500 for each day of the employer’s violation.
SB 951 requires reporting even when all existing workers or contractors remain employed or under contract and there is no overall reduction in positions. A local agency could simply decide not to recruit for a vacant position because technology has improved operational efficiency and still trigger reporting requirements. Local governments routinely make hiring decisions based on multiple factors; including budgets, vacancies, recruitment challenges, service demands, workforce planning, and technology. SB 951 creates new compliance obligations around these routine decisions whenever AI or automation may have played some undefined “substantial” role.
RCRC opposes SB 951 because it subjects public agencies to Labor Commissioner enforcement and civil penalties of up to $500 for each day of a violation. Combining substantial daily penalties with an undefined standard creates significant compliance costs, litigation risk, and unpredictable fiscal exposure for public agencies and taxpayers.
SB 951 is pending a vote on the Assembly Floor, where lawmakers have until August 31 to act on it. The coalition Floor Alert is available HERE.
For additional information, contact RCRC Senior Policy Advocate Sarah Dukett.