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California · 2025–26 Regular Session · Senate Bill

SB 238: Workplace surveillance tools.

Passed one chamber Official data

  1. Introduced
  2. In committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. Passed both chambers
  5. Enacted

Last official action: ·Record last updated:

Plain-language summary

SB 238 is a senate bill introduced in the California Senate on January 29, 2025. According to its official title, it concerns: Workplace surveillance tools. Primary sponsor: Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D). Most recent recorded action (July 1, 2026): July 1 set for second hearing canceled at the request of author.

Generated automatically from the official title, sponsor list, and status record only. It does not characterize the bill’s purpose or effects. How summaries are written

Official summary

Legislative Counsel’s Digest (official, as of the latest version). Written by nonpartisan legislative staff; reproduced verbatim.

Existing law establishes the Department of Industrial Relations in the Labor and Workforce Development Agency to administer and enforce various laws relating to employment and working conditions.

This bill would require a business, as defined, to annually provide a notice to the department of all the workplace surveillance tools the employer is using in the workplace. The bill would require the notice to include, among other information, a list of the workplace surveillance tools being used that surveil employees and the categories of information being collected on employees by the workplace surveillance. The bill would also require a business to send the notice to employees and any union that represents employees of the business. The bill would make a business that violates these provisions subject to a civil penalty of $500 per violation.

This bill would require the department to submit a report to the Legislature by January 1, 2029, compiling the above-described notices provided by businesses. The bill would require that the report include, among other requirements, a breakdown of notices by industry type.

Sponsors

Sponsors by party (alphabetical): Democratic 1

NameRolePartyChamberDistrict
Lola Smallwood-CuevasPrimary sponsorDemocraticSenate28

“Support” is shown only as formal sponsorship recorded by the legislature. Roll-call votes are available on the official bill page.

Recent official actions

  1. July 1 set for second hearing canceled at the request of author.
  2. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on P. & C.P.
  3. July 16 hearing postponed by committee.
  4. Joint Rule 62(a) suspended.
  5. July 8 set for first hearing canceled at the request of author.
  6. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on P. & C.P. (Ayes 5. Noes 1.) (June 25). Re-referred to Com. on P. & C.P.
  7. Referred to Coms. on L. & E. and P. & C.P.
  8. In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
  9. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 27. Noes 10. Page 1473.) Ordered to the Assembly.
  10. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
  11. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 5. Noes 1. Page 1192.) (May 23).
  12. Set for hearing May 23.

Sources

  1. California Legislative Information — pubinfo database export
  2. Official bill page