SACRAMENTO — The California Legislature has put on the Governor’s desk one the first AI protections for healthcare workers and patients. AB 2575, authored by Assemblymember Liz Ortega (D-San Leandro), Chair of the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee, protects nurses’ and doctors’ rights to override AI recommendation when the AI gets it wrong.
“Most Californians want their nurse—not a robot—making the final call. That’s what AB 2575 does,” said Assemblymember Liz Ortega (D-San Leandro).
As AI tools become more common in healthcare, employers require workers to follow AI-generated recommendations—even though these systems can generate false alarms, miss serious conditions, and reflect biases in their training data. Healthcare workers who override a flawed AI recommendation risk retaliation. Yet if they follow a bad recommendation and something goes wrong, liability falls on them—not the developers or employers who deployed it. AB 2575 protects nurses and doctors from retaliation when they disagree with AI—so they can make the decision that is best for their patients.
AB 2575 closes a critical legal loophole that allows developers and employers to evade responsibility by blaming healthcare workers when AI systems fail.
The bill includes two key provisions:
- Protects healthcare workers from retaliation when they use their professional judgment to override—or follow—AI recommendations.
- Ensures accountability by preventing developers and employers from escaping liability when their AI systems contribute to patient harm.
AB 2575 is not intended to stifle innovation. Instead, it leads the nation in establishing clear guardrails to ensure that AI in healthcare is implemented responsibly and with accountability. “AI should support healthcare professionals, not replace them,” said Assemblymember Ortega. “Workers are being forced to choose between protecting their patients and facing retaliation for defying AI. That’s unacceptable.”
Assemblymember Ortega can be available for comment. For press availability, contact Veronica Lopez at (951) 520-7386 (text preferred).
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Assemblymember Liz Ortega is Chair of the Assembly Committee on Labor & Employment and sits on the Assembly Committees on Budget; Insurance; Privacy and Consumer Protection; Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Tourism; and Budget Subcommittee No. 5 on State Administration. She represents the 20th Assembly District, encompassing all or a portion of the cities of Hayward, San Leandro, Union City, Dublin, Pleasanton and the unincorporated areas of Ashland, Cherryland, Fairview, San Lorenzo, and Castro Valley.
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