Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, EXPERT INSIGHTS—California lawmakers send ‘Workplace Know Your Rights Act’ bill to governor, (Oct 2, 2025)

By Michael Nader of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart

The California Legislature recently sent to the governor Senate Bill (SB) 294, which aims to ensure that employers consistently inform employees about key labor protections, immigration-related rights, and constitutional protections in the workplace. The bill, titled "The Workplace Know Your Rights Act," would create a new, stand-alone employee rights notice requirement in the Labor Code and establish related enforcement mechanisms.

Quick Hits

• The California Legislature passed a bill (SB 294) that would require employers to provide annual written notices of key workplace rights, including labor protections and immigration-related rights, starting February 1, 2026.

• SB 294 would require employers to notify designated emergency contacts if an employee is arrested or detained at work, with penalties for noncompliance.

• Governor Newsom has until October 13, 2025, to sign or veto the bill.

SB 294 also introduces a process for notifying employees' designated emergency contacts if an employee is arrested or detained at work.

The bill would task the labor commissioner with developing a statewide template and educational videos, and authorize enforcement through administrative citations or civil actions brought by the labor commissioner or public prosecutors.

If signed by Governor Gavin Newsom by October 13, 2025, the bill will take effect immediately.

Notice Provisions

Annual and new hire notifications

SB 294 would require all California employers to provide a stand-alone written notice of specified workplace rights to each current employee annually and to each new employee upon hire. Employers would also be required to provide the notice annually to the employee's authorized representative, defined as an exclusive collective bargaining representative.

For initial implementation, the labor commissioner would be required to post a template notice to the Department of Industrial Relations' website by January 1, 2026, and post an updated template annually thereafter.

Delivery methods

SB 294 would allow employers to deliver the notice using their customary communication methods, including personal service, email, or text message, provided delivery can be reasonably anticipated within one business day. Employers would be required to retain records for three years documenting compliance, including the date each notice was provided or sent.

Notice content

The bill would require that the notice include the following:

• a description of workers' compensation benefits, including disability pay and medical care for work-related injuries or illness, and contact information for the Division of Workers' Compensation;

• an explanation of employees' rights to receive notice of inspections by immigration agencies under existing law, and an outline of protections against unfair immigration-related practices for those exercising protected rights;

• a statement addressing the right to organize a union or engage in concerted activity in the workplace, and a summary of constitutional rights when interacting with law enforcement at work, including the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures and Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution rights to due process and against self-incrimination; and

• information on new legal developments deemed material by the labor commissioner and a list of enforcement agencies relevant to the rights described.

Language accessibility

Language accessibility is a central requirement. Employers would be required to provide the notice in the language they normally use to communicate employment-related information to the employee, if the labor commissioner's template is available in that language; otherwise, the notice may be provided in English. The labor commissioner would be required to provide a template written in plain language by January 1, 2026, and update it annually. The bill calls for the template to be available in Chinese, English, Hindi, Korean, Punjabi, Spanish, Tagalog, Urdu, and Vietnamese, with the option to add more languages.

Educational videos

SB 294 would also establish an educational component. By July 1, 2026, the labor commissioner would be required to publish separate videos for employees and employers, explaining the rights and obligations covered in the notice. These videos would be available in English and Spanish, with the possibility of additional languages. Employers may, in addition to the written notice, provide a link to or show the relevant video to employees.

Emergency contact information

A particularly novel aspect of SB 294 is the opt-in emergency contact provision related to arrests or detentions. Employers would be required to give existing employees the opportunity to designate an emergency contact by March 30, 2026, and would have to collect this information from new hires at the time of hire after that date. Noncompliance with these requirements could result in penalties of up to $500 per employee per day, with a maximum of $10,000 per employee.

The bill also makes a distinction between the required notification for arrests/detentions on the worksite (when notification is always required) and those occurring offsite during work hours or job duties (when notification is required only if the employer has actual knowledge).

Anti-retaliation protections

SB 294 includes explicit anti-retaliation protections. Employers would be prohibited from discharging, demoting, suspending, or otherwise discriminating or retaliating against employees for exercising rights under the bill, filing complaints, or cooperating in investigations. The bill would authorize the labor commissioner to investigate, issue citations, order temporary relief, and file civil actions; public prosecutors may also bring civil actions. In such actions, petitioners may seek injunctive relief, punitive damages, and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. For most violations, employers could face civil penalties of up to $500 per employee per violation. Penalties may be recovered as statutory penalties payable to the employee or as civil penalties, but not both, for the same violation. The bill does not preempt local ordinances that provide equal or greater protections, and it allows for a clear, explicit waiver by a collective bargaining agreement.

Next Steps

If SB 294 becomes law, employers may consider:

• monitoring the labor commissioner's website for the template notice, and planning to distribute the notice to all current employees by February 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, as well as upon hire and to any authorized representative;

• determining the most effective distribution method, ensuring systems can deliver the notice in the required languages, and setting up recordkeeping to capture dates of transmission and receipt for three years;

• developing an implementation plan for the emergency contact feature, including updating onboarding and HRIS workflows to allow employees to designate emergency contacts and opt into notifications in the event of an arrest or detention;

• training HR, security, and supervisory personnel on notification steps, confidentiality, and anti-retaliation obligations; and

• incorporating the labor commissioner's educational videos into compliance training once available, update internal policies regarding law enforcement interactions at the workplace, and ensure managers understand the constitutional rights highlighted by the bill.

With enforcement available to both the labor commissioner and public prosecutors, careful planning around notice content, delivery, language access, documentation, and incident response protocols will help mitigate risk and support compliance.

Ogletree Deakins will continue to monitor developments and will post updates on the California blog as additional information becomes available.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

Michael Nader

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart

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