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On Aug. 30, AB-1883 received final legislative approval and now heads to California Governor Gavin Newsom for signature or veto. If enacted, AB-1883 would prohibit employers from using workplace surveillance tools that rely on artificial intelligence (AI) to recognize, infer, or predict an employee’s emotional state, or to collect “neural data.” The bill reflects growing legislative concern that emerging workplace AI technologies may intrude too deeply into employees’ private information, particularly as neural data becomes a developing frontier in biometric privacy law, as discussed in our prior article.
The bill defines key terms broadly. “Workplace surveillance tool” would include systems, applications, instruments, or devices that collect or facilitate the collection of employee data, activities, communications, actions, biometrics, or behaviors by means other than direct in-person observation. The text gives examples such as video or audio surveillance, continuous time-tracking tools, geolocation, electromagnetic tracking, photoelectronic tracking, and similar systems.
“Neural data” is defined as “information generated by measuring activity of an employee’s central or peripheral nervous system,” so the bill reaches beyond conventional camera or location monitoring and into newer forms of neurotechnology.
The definition of “employer” is also expansive, covering both private and public employers, including state and local governmental entities, charter cities, and higher education institutions.
AB-1883 does not ban workplace surveillance across the board. Rather, it targets a narrower subset of surveillance tools: those that use artificial intelligence for emotion recognition or neural data collection. The bill expressly states that employers may still use workplace surveillance tools for safety or other purposes if the tools do not fall within the prohibited specifications.
AB-1883 provides for penalties of up to $500 per violation. While modest on its own, that amount could quickly add up if violations are counted per employee, per use, or per incident — creating substantial exposure for employers that deploy prohibited AI surveillance tools at scale.
Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto the bill. Absent a veto, employers should be prepared to evaluate their workplace surveillance tools and compliance obligations before the law takes effect on Jan. 1, 2027.
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