Missouri Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Protect Warehouse Workers from AI Automation

Proposed legislation aims to limit surveillance, guarantee breaks, and mandate transparency around job losses due to technology.

Published on Mar. 5, 2026

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Missouri State Senator Stephen Webber has introduced the Missouri Warehouse Worker Protection Act, a bill that would safeguard warehouse employees from the harmful impacts of AI-driven quotas, algorithmic monitoring, and automation. The proposed legislation seeks to prohibit disciplining workers based on automated data, guarantee rest breaks, limit mandatory overtime, and require employers to report job losses due to new technologies.

Why it matters

This bill addresses growing concerns about the dehumanizing working conditions in warehouses, where companies increasingly rely on AI and algorithms to surveil and discipline employees. The legislation aims to empower workers and bring transparency to the automation-driven job losses impacting local communities.

The details

Key provisions of the Missouri Warehouse Worker Protection Act include: prohibiting employers from disciplining workers based primarily on data from automated monitoring, banning quotas that prevent bathroom access or measure performance in increments shorter than a full workday, guaranteeing rest breaks every three hours, limiting mandatory overtime, requiring 14 days' notice before performance-based termination, mandating severance pay for discharged workers, and compelling employers to report quarterly on jobs eliminated, created, or left unfilled due to AI and automation.

  • Senator Webber recently introduced Senate Bill 1654, the Missouri Warehouse Worker Protection Act.

The players

Stephen Webber

A Missouri state senator representing Columbia, who introduced the Missouri Warehouse Worker Protection Act.

Missouri Workers Center

A labor organization that has been working with Amazon warehouse workers in Missouri since 2022 to address workplace safety and automation concerns.

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What they’re saying

“SB 1654 builds on legislation passed in other states, and introduced federally, to make warehouses a safer place to work. It rightfully puts more power in the hands of workers by requiring quota transparency, limiting surveillance, and securing rights to organize.”

— Stephen Webber, Missouri State Senator (labortribune.com)

“As companies like Amazon increasingly automate their operations, Missouri workers deserve to know when their jobs are being eliminated by machines — and they deserve real protections when algorithms are calling the shots on the warehouse floor.”

— Stephen Webber, Missouri State Senator (labortribune.com)

What’s next

The Missouri state legislature will consider Senate Bill 1654, the Missouri Warehouse Worker Protection Act, in the upcoming legislative session.

The takeaway

This proposed legislation in Missouri aims to address the growing concerns about the negative impacts of AI-driven automation and surveillance on warehouse workers, empowering employees and bringing transparency to the job losses affecting local communities.