California’s “Know Your Rights” notice requirement is now in effect, and employers who haven’t distributed it are already exposed to fines.
As of February 1, 2026, all California employers must provide a written “Workplace Know Your Rights Act Notice” to every current employee and to new hires upon employment. The mandate comes from Senate Bill 294 and applies to businesses of every size, including those with just a handful of W-2 workers.
What the Notice Covers
The notice must explain employees’ constitutional rights during law enforcement interactions, immigration protections, workers’ compensation benefits, union organizing rights, and other recent legal developments. The California Labor Commissioner has published a template notice in English and Spanish, with additional translations planned.
The notice must be in the language the employee typically uses for work communications. Handing out an English-only version when employees primarily communicate in another language could count as a violation.
How to Deliver It
Employers can distribute the notice by personal service, email, or text message, as long as it’s reasonably expected to be received within one business day. Whatever method you choose, keep a record showing when and how each employee received it.
Penalties Are Per Employee
Non-compliance carries penalties of up to $500 per employee per violation. For a 20-person team, that’s up to $10,000 in exposure from a single missed distribution.
There’s a separate obligation worth noting. By March 30, 2026, employers must also allow employees to designate emergency contacts for notification in the event of an arrest or detention. Penalties for emergency contact violations can reach $500 per employee per day, capped at $10,000 per employee.
What to Do Now
If you haven’t already distributed the notice, do it today. Download the Labor Commissioner’s template from the DIR website, send it to all current employees, and add it to your new-hire onboarding checklist. Set a calendar reminder to redistribute it annually.
Before March 30, set up a simple process for employees to submit emergency contact designations and opt in to arrest or detention notification. Document everything.
The Labor Commissioner is expected to release additional language translations of the template in the coming months. If you have employees who work in a language other than English or Spanish, watch for those updates.
