PolicyEthicsBrain-computer interfaces03 sources

California signs AB 1883, barring employers from neural data

Governor Gavin Newsom signing worker-protection legislation at a table behind a bronze California grizzly bear statue, flanked by legislators and labor union members in a modern atrium with the US and California flags behind him.

Office of Governor Gavin NewsomPress kit

Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1883 on 30 September 2026, in a package of artificial intelligence and worker protection bills announced by his office that day. The bill, by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan of Los Angeles, regulates workplace surveillance tools. In August it had cleared a Senate committee; it has now been signed.

The enrolled text, dated 3 September 2026, prohibits employers from using AI-powered workplace surveillance tools to collect neural data, or to recognise or infer an individual’s emotional state. It defines neural data as information generated by measuring the activity of an employee’s central or peripheral nervous system, and not inferred from nonneural information. Violations carry civil penalties of up to $500 each, alongside injunctive relief and attorney’s fees.

The governor’s summary of the bill highlights a different provision, a ban on surveillance tools in workplace bathrooms. Neither the bill’s chapter number nor its operative date had been posted on the legislature’s site when this capsule was written.

The bill passed the Senate 28-9 on 28 August and the Assembly concurred 56-8 on 30 August, before it was presented to the governor on 10 September.

Sources

  1. [1]California's nation-leading AI framework just got stronger, Governor Newsom signs more first-in-the-nation worker protections and moreOffice of Governor Gavin Newsom··Newsroom
  2. [2]AB-1883 Workplace surveillance tools — enrolled bill textCalifornia Legislative Information··Regulatory filing
  3. [3]AB-1883 Workplace surveillance tools — bill historyCalifornia Legislative Information··Regulatory filing