When an algorithm makes the call at work, who do you complain to?

CNBC reported on 20 September 2026 that HR researchers have started asking who inside a company is supposed to handle a worker's complaint about an AI system. Darrell M. West of the Brookings Institution argued in a July commentary that businesses "will need to supplement HR with robot relations (RR)", because employee grievances will increasingly involve AI agents, cobots and large language models rather than colleagues. The question is not hypothetical. California's legislature has passed a bill barring "robo bosses" from firing or disciplining workers, and Governor Gavin Newsom has until the end of September to sign or veto it; at an experimental San Francisco store run by Andon Labs, an AI manager called Luna made its first recommendation to terminate an employee in August; and Meta is defending a July lawsuit alleging that AI-assisted systems ranked and selected workers for layoffs, which the company denies. A May survey by the labour-movement nonprofit United for Respect found Amazon and Walmart workers worried that HR decisions are being automated; Amazon said the survey covers a fraction of a workforce in the millions. It matters because the argument is shifting from whether AI cuts jobs to who a worker can appeal to once it starts making decisions about them.