Does your company use GPS or cameras on company vehicles or work phones? Do your workers wear badges or tags that track where they are?
If you said yes to even one of those questions, keep reading. It does not matter if you have one pickup or one hundred trucks. New California laws change how these tools can be used. Two rules start on January 1, 2027. An additional rule starts on July 1, 2027.
Many owners will think, “This is not about us. We don’t use AI.” That is the most common mistake. The good news is that the steps to comply are simple if you start now.
Why This Matters
Many monitoring tools now rely on artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze data and draw conclusions about the people being monitored. In most cases, the AI is built into the vendor’s platform and runs in the background, so employers may not realize it is there.
These laws do not ban GPS or cameras. Instead, they limit what the AI inside those tools may do, restrict monitoring in restrooms, and require human oversight before monitoring data is used for discipline.
Rule 1: No AI That Interprets Emotions (AB 1883)
Effective January 1, 2027, employers may not use a monitoring tool powered by AI to:
- Recognize, infer, or predict an employee’s emotional state
- Collect neural data, meaning information measured from an employee’s brain or nervous system
In practice, this targets features that claim to detect whether a worker is angry, stressed, frustrated, or disengaged. Penalties reach up to $500 per violation, which can add up quickly across a workforce.
The law does permit monitoring tools used to ensure safety. However, it does not define “emotional state,” and the scope of the safety exception has not yet been tested. A camera that detects a drowsy driver, for example, may well be permissible, but no court or agency has confirmed that yet.
Rule 2: No Monitoring in Restrooms (AB 1331)
Also, effective January 1, 2027, employers may not use surveillance tools to monitor employees in workplace restrooms. Employees also have the right to leave tracking devices behind before entering, including work phones, badges, and wearables.
We recommend applying the same standard to portable restrooms on job sites.
Rule 3: Human Review Before Discipline (SB 947)
Beginning July 1, 2027, an automated system cannot be the sole basis for disciplining or terminating an employee. When an employer relies primarily on such a system, a person must independently verify the information before acting.
Consider a common scenario: a telematics platform flags a driver with a low safety score. Before taking action, a manager must review the underlying video or data and confirm the facts. If the system was the primary basis for the decision, the employer must also notify the employee when the decision is communicated.
Which Features Are Compliant?
A single platform often bundles many features, some lawful and some not. Evaluate each feature on its own rather than the tool as a whole.
Features that are likely permissible:
- GPS location tracking
- Speed, hard braking, and idling data
- Hours of service and rest break reminders
- Road facing cameras
- Alerts for phone use or seatbelt violations
Features that warrant a closer review:
- Driver fatigue or distraction detection
- Wearables that monitor heat stress, heart rate, or fatigue
Features that carry significant risk:
- Scoring of driver mood, stress, or aggression
- Analysis of an employee’s tone of voice
- Office or remote work software that scores employee “engagement” by analyzing facial expressions on camera or the tone of emails and messages
Recommended Next Steps
Employers that begin now will be well positioned by January 1. We recommend the following:
- Inventory every monitoring tool in use, including those managed by fleet, safety, and operations teams.
- Ask each vendor, in writing, which AI features the platform includes and which are currently active.
- Disable any feature that infers mood, stress, or aggression.
- If you retain fatigue or distraction alerts, document the specific safety purpose they serve.
- Use safety alerts for coaching and keep that data separate from performance evaluations.
- Update your electronic monitoring policy and communicate it to employees.
- By July 1, 2027, establish a documented human review step before any discipline based on monitoring data.
How We Can Help
Cavignac’s risk control team can help you evaluate your monitoring tools, prepare vendor questions, and update your policies. Please reach out with any questions.
This article is provided for general informational purposes and is not legal advice. Please consult employment counsel regarding your specific situation.
