Newsom plans executive order to study AI job losses and labor rules

In short: California Governor Gavin Newsom plans an executive order to explore how the state should update labor policies as AI threatens to replace some jobs.

What happened

The New York Times reports that Gov. Gavin Newsom will issue an executive order focused on potential mass job displacement from artificial intelligence.

So far, Newsom’s formal AI orders have mostly focused on how California state government uses AI, not on rewriting labor law for private companies. In 2023, he signed Executive Order N-12-23, which told state agencies to study the risks of generative AI (tools that create text or images, like an autocomplete that can write full pages) and to look at possible effects on state workers.

California later added guidelines for state agencies that buy or use generative AI. These guidelines include risk checks, required training for workers, and reviews of AI-related contracts before they are signed. In March 2026, Newsom signed another order, N-5-26, to create a certification system for AI vendors that want to sell to the state, including expectations around privacy, security, and bias (when a tool unfairly treats some groups differently).

Newsom has also talked publicly about ideas like earlier warnings for layoffs tied to automation, similar to updating the WARN Act, which is the law that requires notice ahead of large layoffs.

Why it matters

Even if the new order does not change labor laws right away, it signals that California is preparing for job disruptions from AI. For workers, the key question is whether the state will require more advance notice, clearer explanations when AI is used at work, and stronger support for people who need time and training to move into new jobs.

Source: NYTimes