Worker data: prohibitions: artificial intelligence.

Plain English Breakdown

The official summary text does not provide specific details on the enforcement process or penalties beyond a $500 fine per employee per violation.

Worker Data Protection from AI

This law stops employers and their partners from using worker data to train artificial intelligence that could replace workers or take over their jobs, and it sets rules for how this data can be used.

What This Bill Does

• It says employers cannot use worker information to teach AI systems to do the same job as a person.
• It stops employers from sharing worker details with others who might use them to train AI that could replace workers.
• It requires contracts between employers and service providers to include rules about protecting worker data and joint responsibility for violations.
• It defines key terms like 'employer' and 'worker data'.
• It allows the Labor Commissioner and public prosecutors to enforce these rules.

Who It Names or Affects

• Employers who use or share worker information with AI systems.
• Service providers working under contracts with employers.
• Workers whose personal information is protected by this law.

Terms To Know

Worker data

Information about workers that can be used to identify them or learn about their work.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Computer systems that can do tasks that usually need human intelligence, like learning and decision-making.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how to determine what data is strictly necessary for employment.
• It does not provide details on the enforcement process or penalties beyond a $500 fine per employee per violation.
• The exact impact of these restrictions on AI development and use in businesses remains unclear.

Official Summary Text

AB 2027, as amended, Ward.
Worker data: prohibitions: artificial intelligence.
Existing law establishes the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement within the Department of Industrial Relations. Existing law authorizes the division, which is headed by the Labor Commissioner, to enforce the Labor Code and all labor laws of the state, the enforcement of which is not specifically vested in any other officer, board, or commission.
This bill would
require an employer, or a vendor acting on behalf of an employer, to collect and process worker data only as strictly necessary to administer the employment relationship and fulfill specific obligations. The bill would prohibit an employer or vendor from using a worker data to train or deploy artificial intelligence to, among other things, replicate, automate, or replace a worker’s job, and to prohibit an employer or vendor from deploying artificial intelligence trained with worker
data
prohibit an employer from using a worker’s personal information, as defined, to train an artificial intelligence system
to replicate, automate, or replace a worker’s
job. The bill
job, and
would prohibit an employer from selling, disclosing, or otherwise providing access to
worker data to a third party to train an artificial intelligence system for the purposes of replicating, automating, or replacing
a worker’s personal information to a third party for the purpose of training an artificial intelligence system to replicate, automate, or
replace
a worker’s job. The bill would prohibit a vendor providing services to an employer under a contract from providing access to the
personal information of an
employer’s worker
data
to a third party or using
an
the personal information of an
employer’s worker
data
to train artificial intelligence, as specified. The bill would require a contract between an employer and vendor to include
specific terms, including, among others, a provision that the employer and vendor be jointly liable for a violation of these prohibitions.
a requirement that the vendor implement and maintain reasonable
security procedures to protect the worker’s personal information from, among other things, unauthorized or illegal access.
The bill would define terms for these provisions, including “employer” and
“worker data.”
“personal information.
”
The bill would require the Labor Commissioner and authorize a public prosecutor to enforce these provisions. The bill would authorize a worker, or their exclusive representative, who suffered a violation of these provisions to bring a civil action for damages, injunctive relief, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees and costs. The bill would establish a statutory penalty for a violation of these provisions 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.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF