California AI Workplace Laws Ban Emotion Reading, Block Solo AI Firing
Your boss can track your hours. Starting next year, it can’t scan your face to guess how you feel. Governor Gavin Newsom signed a package of California AI workplace laws on Sept 30, 2026, that make California the first state to flatly ban AI tools that read workers’ emotions, and the first to outlaw firings made by an algorithm alone. The bills landed one day after President Trump celebrated a voluntary AI safety accord with tech CEOs, in which companies including Google, Meta, OpenAI, and Nvidia pledged to self-police their systems. Newsom used the signing to draw a sharp contrast: California, he said, is putting “people at the center” while Washington has yet to pass comprehensive federal AI rules. ...