California Legislature passes AB 1883 banning AI-based workplace surveillance of emotional state and neural data

The California Legislature passed AB 1883 (Assemblymember Bryan), prohibiting employers from using AI-powered workplace surveillance tools to infer workers' emotional states or collect their neural data (defined broadly to cover information from measuring central/peripheral nervous system activity, with a safety exception), with the bill sent to Gov. Newsom's desk in the final week of the session (reported in Sept 1-2, 2026 coverage of the Legislature's AI bill package).

First-in-nation statutory ban specifically targeting neurotechnology and AI emotion-inference in employment monitoring, setting a precedent for regulating an emerging category of workplace AI surveillance tools ahead of federal action.

Employers deploying AI-based workplace monitoring/wellness tools in California should audit for neural-data collection or emotion-inference features before the bill is signed or vetoed by Sept. 30, 2026.