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AB-1221 • 2026

Workplace surveillance tools.

Workplace surveillance tools.

Labor Privacy Technology
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Bryan
Last action
Official status
Assembly - Died - Appropriations
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The phrase 'except as specified' regarding technology bans indicates exceptions exist but are not defined in this text excerpt.

Rules for Workplace Surveillance Tools

This law sets rules on how employers can use surveillance tools and handle worker data, including bans on certain technologies like facial recognition.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires employers to give workers a written notice at least 30 days before using new surveillance tools.
  • The notice must explain what data will be collected, the intended purpose of the tool, and how it is necessary to meet that purpose.
  • Prohibits employers from transferring, selling, disclosing, or licensing worker data to vendors unless there is a contract for analysis or interpretation with specific terms.
  • Bans the use of workplace surveillance tools that include facial recognition, gait analysis, or emotion detection technology, except as specified in the law.
  • Stops employers from using these tools to guess private information about workers, such as their immigration status, veteran status, ancestral history, religious or political beliefs, disability status, criminal record, or credit history.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Employers in the state, including public employers.
  • Workers who may be monitored by surveillance tools at their jobs.
  • The Labor Commissioner and Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, who must enforce these rules.
  • Employees and public prosecutors, who can take legal action if an employer breaks the law.

Terms To Know

Workplace surveillance tool
A device or software used to monitor workers in their place of employment, as defined by the bill.
Worker data
Information collected about a worker through the use of workplace surveillance tools.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law bans certain technologies 'except as specified,' but the specific exceptions are not detailed in this summary.
  • The contract terms required for sharing data with vendors are mentioned generally but not listed here.
  • The official effective date is not provided in the source material.

Bill History

  1. California Legislative Information

    Assembly - Died - Appropriations

Official Summary Text

Workplace surveillance tools.