California reimagining WARN for the AI era?

California is weighing whether its Cal-WARN worker-notice law should be updated for the AI and automation reshaping employment. On May 21, 2026, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order N-6-26 directing multiple state agencies to study AI’s impact on the labor market and recommend changes to existing worker protection rules. The order flags Cal-WARN, which currently requires advance notice for qualifying mass layoffs, relocations, or plant/facility closures for employers with 75+ workers involving 50+ affected employees. Agencies must deliver recommendations within 180 days, using a new automation-impact dashboard and AI-related employment data; the executive order itself creates no new private-employer compliance duties.