Bill
S 35
Massachusetts bill creates Chapter 149B to curb employer use of automated decision systems and electronic monitoring, protecting worker privacy, health, and fair treatment.
Note on source material and scope
- The file you provided contains conflicting metadata. The top-line title/heading refers to a hate-crimes amendment concerning cemetery desecration, but the full bill text and docket information are for a Massachusetts Senate bill titled "An Act fostering artificial intelligence responsibility" that would add a new Chapter 149B to the General Laws addressing employer use of automated decision systems and electronic monitoring. This summary focuses on the actual bill text included in your submission (the Massachusetts AI / employee-monitoring bill). If you intended the cemetery/hate-crimes bill, please provide the correct text or clarify.
Summary — "An Act fostering artificial intelligence responsibility" (Senate Docket No. 838 / S.35)
Purpose and intent
- Establish statewide guardrails on employer use of automated decision systems (ADS) and electronic monitoring tools to protect worker privacy, physical and mental health, and workplace fairness. The bill aims to promote responsible use of artificial intelligence and analytics in employment contexts by defining covered technologies and employee data and by creating obligations and protections for workers.
Main changes and structure
- Creates a new Chapter 149B in the Massachusetts General Laws (added after chapter 149A).
- Section 1 (Definitions) — extensive, foundational definitions that will govern the chapter. Key defined terms include:
- Automated Decision System (ADS): systems using machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, AI, etc., that produce outputs (scores, rankings, recommendations) used to assist or replace human decision-making affecting natural persons. Narrow exclusions (e.g., calculators, basic firewalls) are noted.
- ADS output: any information, predictions, scores, or recommendations generated by an ADS.
- Electronic monitoring tool: any system/app/instrument that collects data on worker activities or communications by means other than direct human observation.
- Employee information / Employee data: a broad category covering personal identity, biometric data, health/medical/wellness information, workplace activities (performance productivity, communications, device usage, audio/photo/video, ADS inputs/outputs linked to individuals), continuous time-tracking data, and COVID-19 / public health-related workplace data.
- De‑identified employee data: aggregated/summary data from which specific employees cannot be identified.
- Candidate: person (or authorized representative) seeking employment or screened for recruitment.
- Authorized representative: a person or organization appointed by a worker (including labor organizations), explicitly excluding the employer.
- Continuous incremental time-tracking tool and egregious misconduct: defined for clarity about monitoring and exceptions.
Who would be affected
- Employers and businesses operating in Massachusetts that use ADS, electronic monitoring, or continuous time-tracking tools in hiring, performance evaluation, discipline, scheduling, or other employment decisions.
- Current employees, job candidates, and their authorized representatives (including labor organizations).
- Vendors and third parties supplying ADS, analytics, monitoring tools, and employee data.
- The Department of Labor Standards (referred to as "Department") as the implementing/regulatory body (per the definitions section).
Procedural and timeline notes (as provided)
- Introduced in the Massachusetts Senate: January 8, 2025 (Senate Docket No. 838 / S.35).
- Referred to various committees per the record you provided: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance (1/8/2025); also referred to committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity (2/27/2025). Hearing scheduling entries and a favorable committee report (reported favorably and referred to Senate Ways & Means on 10/16/2025) are listed.
- The bill text excerpt provided is truncated (the file contains only the definitions and introductory sections). The full chapter text, including substantive employer obligations, prohibitions, notice, data access, audit, impact assessment, enforcement mechanisms, penalties, or effective dates, was not included in the excerpt.
Limitations and recommended next steps
- Because only the initial sections and definitions are present in the supplied excerpt, this summary cannot describe specific duties, disclosure requirements, risk-assessment rules, employee rights (e.g., access, contestation, human review), enforcement provisions, or penalties that the full bill may contain.
- Recommendation: obtain the full legislative text (complete Chapter 149B) or later bill versions to summarize obligations, compliance timelines, enforcement mechanisms, and any carve-outs (e.g., for safety, law enforcement, or national-security needs). Also confirm the correct bill metadata (sponsor list and title) to resolve inconsistencies in the supplied materials.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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