A new California labor report examines tools that track workers, evaluate performance and analyze behavior. Here’s how the technology works and what the state’s new workplace protections cover.
A phone app can track where you go during a shift. Software can measure how quickly you finish a task. And some AI tools can score your performance or try to interpret your behavior.
For workers, the concern isn’t just whether an employer is keeping tabs on the job. It’s what happens to that information. Could it affect your schedule, your performance review or even whether you keep your job?
A new report from the UCLA Labor Center, UC Berkeley Labor Center and partner organizations looks at how these technologies are changing work. The October 8 report, Bossware Comes to California, draws on existing research and interviews with 25 California workers.
The researchers describe how digital monitoring can increase pressure on employees, shape workplace decisions and leave workers unsure about what information their employers collect or how they use it.
Those concerns deserve attention. But there’s an important distinction: the interviews document workers’ experiences; they don’t establish how many California workers are monitored or how often these tools lead to discipline.
Some workplace tracking is easy to recognize. A delivery driver may be tracked by GPS. A warehouse worker may have productivity targets. An office employee may use software that records activity on a work computer.
Other systems go further. Automated tools can rank employees, flag people who fall behind targets or recommend management action. Some AI products also claim to infer a worker’s emotional state from behavior or other data.
These tools don’t all do the same thing. Tracking a delivery route is different from using a computer-generated score to help decide whether someone should be disciplined.
The bigger question is what happens after the information is collected.
Can a worker find out why a system flagged them? Can they correct inaccurate information? Does a manager check the results before making a decision that affects someone’s paycheck or livelihood?
Those are practical questions for anyone whose job is increasingly measured by software.
This is not new, we have written about the broader effects of automation and how AI is changing jobs and what workers can do next. This new report brings the focus closer to the workplace itself: not just which jobs technology might change, but how it can affect people who are already working.
On September 30, 2026, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed four laws addressing workplace surveillance, automated employment decisions and technology-driven job losses. Most of the new requirements are scheduled to take effect in 2027.
Here’s what workers should know:
- AB 1331 — Effective January 1, 2027. This law restricts workplace surveillance in employee bathrooms, subject to specified exceptions. It also allows workers to leave behind certain surveillance devices when entering a bathroom, with exceptions set out in the law. Read the enacted bill.
- AB 1883 — Effective January 1, 2027. This law restricts certain AI-powered workplace surveillance practices, including tools that infer or predict employees’ emotional states or collect neural data. The law includes specific exceptions; it does not prohibit every form of employee monitoring. Read the legislative record.
- SB 947 — Effective July 1, 2027. Known as the No Robo Bosses Act, this law sets rules for certain automated systems used in disciplinary and termination decisions. It requires human corroboration when an employer relies primarily on an automated system’s output for such a decision, along with notice to affected employees and access to a description of their own data upon request. Read the enacted bill.
- SB 951 — Effective January 1, 2027. This law adds technology-related information to California’s existing WARN notice framework for certain mass layoffs, relocations or terminations caused wholly or substantially by AI or automation. It does not mean every job loss involving technology triggers a mass-layoff notice. Read the legislative record.
These laws address different problems. They don’t create a blanket ban on workplace surveillance or AI, and whether a particular practice is covered depends on the law and the circumstances.
For the official announcement, see the governor’s September 30 signing statement.
What workers can do now
You don’t have to wait until the new laws take effect to start asking questions about workplace technology.
Check your workplace policies. Look at your employee handbook and any notices about work-issued phones, computers, location tracking or performance monitoring. If something isn’t clear, ask what information is collected and how it’s used.
Speak up about inaccurate information. If a performance score or automated assessment doesn’t reflect what happened, keep relevant work records and ask your manager or human resources department how the decision was made.
Keep a record of workplace concerns. Save relevant messages, performance reviews and policy notices through lawful means. If you believe a decision was discriminatory or retaliatory, consider getting advice before taking action.
For help understanding California workplace rights, visit the California Labor Commissioner’s Office, which provides information about labor protections and complaint processes.
Workers facing immigration-related concerns should also know that workplace rights and permission to work are separate legal questions. Parriva explains that distinction in its guide to California workplace rights for workers whose Temporary Protected Status is changing.
Employers may use digital tools to coordinate schedules, improve safety or manage operations. But when those tools help evaluate a person or influence a decision about their job, workers deserve a clear understanding of how the system is being used.
California’s new laws set boundaries around some practices. They don’t answer every question about employee privacy, automated scores or the role of AI in the workplace.
For workers, a good starting point is simple: find out what’s being tracked, ask how that information affects your job, and understand which protections apply to your situation.
Because when technology helps make decisions about someone’s livelihood, workers shouldn’t be left guessing about how those decisions are made.
