California Enacts SB 951, Adding AI Displacement Disclosures to Cal/WARN Layoff Notices

Senate Bill 951 (Reyes) was approved by the Governor and filed with the Secretary of State on September 30, 2026 as Chapter 860, Statutes of 2026. It amends the California WARN Act so that a 60-day notice of a mass layoff, relocation, or termination caused in whole or in substantial part by an AI system or other automated technology must also state the number, classification, and location of affected positions, the job functions that will be automated, and the category of technology involved, under the heading "This notice is for a technology displacement." The Employment Development Department must publish a summary of those notices and a quarterly statewide summary, and must report to the Legislature by January 1, 2028 on AI's effects on hiring. The enacted text keeps Cal/WARN's existing 60-day notice period. It carries no urgency clause or special operative date, so it takes effect January 1, 2027 under California's default rule for statutes enacted in a regular session. Chaptered text retrieved 2026-10-12.

Source: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov