California’s SB 294, officially titled the Workplace Know Your Rights Act (the Act), was signed into law on October 12, 2025. The Act aims to ensure that California employees are fully informed of their rights in the workplace, particularly in areas involving labor protections, immigration-related inspections, union activity, and constitutional rights during law enforcement interactions. 

The Act requires the California Labor Commissioner to develop and post a Notice template on its website for employer use on or before January 1, 2026, and to post and update the template annually thereafter. Employers will be required to begin providing the notice to employees as of February 1, 2026. The Act also requires the Labor Commissioner, on or before July 1, 2026, to develop resource videos for employees and employers advising them of their rights. The Act further requires the Agricultural Labor Relations Board to provide specified input for the Notice template and videos regarding workers rights to organize, form, join, or assist a union, engage in collective bargaining, and participate in concerted activities for mutual aid or protection.  

What Does it Mean 

• Annual Written Notice Requirement: Employers must provide a stand-alone written notice – provided by the California Labor Commissioner – to each employee by February 1, 2026, and annually thereafter. The notice must include information on: 
  • Workers’ compensation rights 
  • Protections against unfair immigration-related practices 
  • Rights to unionize and engage in concerted activity 
  • Constitutional protections under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments when interacting with law enforcement at work 

• New Hire and Representative Notification: The same notice must be given to new hires during the onboarding process and to any authorized employee representative (e.g., union) annually. 

• Multilingual Accessibility: Notices must be provided in the language the employer typically uses to communicate with the employee, assuming the Labor Commissioner has made the template available in that language. 

• Emergency Contact Notification: Employers must allow employees to designate an emergency contact to be notified in case of arrest or detention at the worksite or during work hours. This must be offered by March 30, 2026, for current employees and at the time of hiring for new employees. 

The Act provides protection against retaliation for employees exercising their rights under the new law and significant penalties for employer noncompliance: 

• Up to $500 per employee per violation; and 

• For violation of the emergency contact requirement, up to $500 per employee for each day the violation occurs, up to a maximum of $10,000 per employee. 

Next Steps for Employers 

• Monitor Updates: Employers should monitor updates from the Labor Commissioner’s office ahead of the January 1, 2026 and July 1, 2026 deadlines, and consult legal counsel to ensure full compliance with all new notice requirements. 

• Prepare for the February 1, 2026, Deadline: Begin planning now for how your organization will distribute the Notice to your employees and their representatives. 

• Update Onboarding and HR Systems: Integrate the Notice into your new hire onboarding process and ensure your HR systems can track annual distribution and maintain records for at least three years. 

• Implement Emergency Contact Protocols: Develop a process to collect, store, and act on emergency contact information, including employee preferences for notification in case of arrest or detention.