California’s New Notice to Employees: The Workplace Know Your Rights Act

On October 12, 2025, California Gov. Gavin Newsome signed into law Senate Bill No. 294, or The Workplace Know Your Rights Act, creating a new notice requirement for employers in The Golden State.  

The goal of the Workplace Know Your Rights Act (the Act) is to “equip workers with knowledge of their rights” in the workplace. The Act requires employers, by Feb. 1, 2026, to provide a stand-alone written notice to current employees and new hires (then annually thereafter), which includes descriptions of workers’ rights for the following:  

• Rights to workers’ compensation benefits, disability pay, and medical care for work-related injuries 
• Contact information for the Division of Workers’ Compensation 
• Right to notices of inspection by immigration agencies under § 90.2 
• Protection against unfair immigration-related practices against a person who is exercising protected rights 
• The right to organize a union or join concerted activity in the workplace 
• Constitutional rights (including the 4th and 5th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution) when interacting with law enforcement at the workplace 

The notice must include a description of new and relevant legal developments on laws enforced by the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and a list by the Labor Commissioner of the agencies enforcing the rights described in the new notice. The notice also needs to be provided in the language the employer normally uses to communicate employment-related information to the employee, if the template notice is available in that language on the agency website.  

An employer may also choose to provide a link to the video that will be developed by the Labor Commissioner’s office explaining the rights under the Act. Finally, employers must keep records of compliance for three years, including the date each written notice was provided or sent.  

Employers should be on the lookout for the new template notice developed by the Labor Commissioner, which will be out by Jan. 1, 2026.

As a reminder, employers must provide notice described above by Feb. 1, 2026.