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By: @Lilia Hernandez

Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-6-26 on May 21, directing analysis and seeking opportunities for mitigation of impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) on California’s workforce. The Governor’s Executive Order recognizes that the fast-growing role of AI in California’s workforce presents opportunities and challenges associated with how it may evolve. 

The expansive Executive Order covers various topics, generally grouped into the following categories:

Responding to possible employment and workforce disruption and empowering workers to share in the gains made from AI adoptions.

1. Review of safety nets such as severance pay, equity, and temporary employment programs for displaced workers such as CalWORKs/JobsNOW in coordination with other qualifying agencies.
2. Establish awareness to expand upon employment insurance programs similar to Work Share.
3. Promote programs such as the Governor’s Office of Service and Community Engagement, California Volunteers, California Service Corps, and other relevant agencies to provide service opportunities to aid in long-term unemployment and employment disruptions.
4. Improve access for unemployed workers to training courses and upskilling opportunities in coordination with the Jobs First Council.

Tracking and understanding the impact of AI on the workforce, filling the gaps of knowledge, and providing clear and concrete data.

1. Evaluate collective bargaining processes addressing the emergence of technologies and utilization of employee integration into AI adoptions for educational outcomes.
2. Develop an AI playbook to expand AI literacy initiatives through workforce development programs.
3. Acquire feedback regarding adopted technological hiring and workforce decisions.
4. Require a review of the emerging body of academic research identifying the potential workforce impacts of technological shifts, including AI’s impact on California’s labor market and potential disproportionate impacts on demographic groups.
5. Recommend revisions and updates to the California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act in a manner that is responsive to, and effectively provides early warning data on, emerging industry trends.
6. Require the EDD to provide public data centered around AI impacts on employment across various sectors through unemployment insurance data.
7. Encourage higher education institutions to strengthen workforce preparation and expand work-based learning opportunities.

Developing stronger public policy and support programs for using AI to advance the public good.

1. Mandate the Jobs First Council to coordinate with local leaders and stakeholders to address regions experiencing systemically high unemployment rates.
2. Support small business adoption of AI and emerging technologies through education, technical assistance, and best-practice guidance.
3. Permit the engagement of education and initiatives for AI business adoptions through California Office of the Small Business Advocate for best practices and applications regarding emerging technologies.
4. Promote coordination among state agencies, educational institutions, businesses, labor organizations, and community stakeholders to ensure workforce and economic policies remain responsive to technological change.
5. No later than October 15, 2026, the Government Operations Agency shall, in consultation with academics and experts from the University of California system, Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, and the private sector, provide the Governor with options and recommendations for actions that could alter incentive structures and increase likelihood of AI development and deployments that advance the public good and address critical problems and emerging opportunities facing society.
6. Require the California Health and Human Services Agency, in coordination with the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the Office of Data and Innovation (ODI), and other relevant departments and agencies, to leverage ODI’s single online platform to enable Californians to more easily navigate government services and, ultimately, help Californians identify all social services for which they may be eligible. Agencies, in consultation with key stakeholders in the public and private sectors, shall identify opportunities for greater coordination and collaboration across programs and systems.
7. Require state departments and agencies to incorporate, to the extent practicable, the findings from Engaged California’s newly launched engagement around AI into all of the above work streams

CSDA has been a leading advocate on workplace technology issues that impact the communities served by special districts. In partnership with coalition members, CSDA has worked to preserve public agencies’ flexibility in the use of artificial intelligence (AI), automated decision systems (ADS), surveillance technologies, and other innovative tools.

Two legislative measures opposed by CSDA, AB 1898 [Schultz] Workplace artificial intelligence tools and AB 2027 [Ward] Worker data: prohibitions: artificial intelligence, were held on the Assembly Appropriations Committee Suspense File, and will not be advancing further this year. CSDA and other stakeholders opposed this legislation due to unreasonable restrictions on workplace technologies such as AI and ADS, and failure to account for existing protections and unique aspects of the public sector workforce and public sector service delivery.

Four additional broadly-applicable AI/ADS measures where CSDA and partners have expressed ongoing opposition, remain active in this year’s legislative session:

• SB 947 (McNerney) Employment: automated decision systems.
• SB 951 (Reyes) Employment: technological displacement: notice.
• AB 1883 (Bryan) Workplace surveillance tools.
• AB 2656 (Petrie-Norris) Public employees: notice: artificial intelligence performing service.

CSDA is working to assess the impact of the Governor’s Executive Order on current advocacy efforts. Stay tuned to Advocacy News and CSDA eNews for additional information.