Employers’ Obligations Under the Workplace Know Your Rights Act

In this episode of The Workplace podcast, CalChamber General Counsel, Labor and Employment Bianca Saad and CalChamber Associate General Counsel, Labor and Employment Matthew Roberts discuss a new employment law taking effect on January 1, 2026, that affects California employers — the Workplace Know Your Rights Act.

To comply with the new law, California employers have several new obligations. First, employers must proactively give all their employees a Know Your Rights notice, which must cover several categories of information, including:

• The right to workers’ compensation benefits, including disability pay and medical care for work-related injuries and illnesses.
• The right to notice of inspection when immigration agencies notify employers that they will inspect Form I-9s and other documents.
• Constitutional rights, such as when interacting with law enforcement at the workplace, including an employee’s right under the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.
• A list of enforcement agencies that may enforce the rights identified in the notice.

So, although the new required notice doesn’t create any new rights or obligations for employees, employers still are obligated to provide this notice to all employees.

The good news is that the California Labor Commissioner’s Office must create a template notice for employers to use by January 1, 2026. Once the template is available, employers have until February 1, 2026, to provide this notice to their existing employees and any new hires after that date. Employers can send this notice in several ways, including hand-delivery, email or text, as long as they reasonably anticipate the employee will receive it within one business day.

Note: The state Department of Industrial Relations Workplace Know Your Rights Act web page includes links to the English and Spanish template notices. As of January 6, 2026, notices in additional languages were to be available soon.

Keep in mind that this isn’t a one-time notice requirement — employers must provide this notice annually. Employers also must keep certain records demonstrating compliance for at least three years.

In addition to the notice requirement, beginning no later than March 30, 2026, the Workplace Know Your Rights Act requires employers to allow existing employees and new hires to name an emergency contact and be able to update that information throughout their employment. And employees must be allowed to designate an emergency contact for an employer to contact if the employee is arrested or detained at the work site or during working hours.

New Employment Laws White Paper, Seminars

The Workplace Know Your Rights Act isn’t the only new employment law affecting employers in 2026. Download CalChamber’s free “New 2026 Labor and Employment Laws” white paper for a summary of upcoming changes for next year (CalChamber members can download it here).

For an in-depth look at these new laws, register now for CalChamber’s popular 2026 Employment Law Updates seminars. During these virtual, half-day seminars, our employment law experts will provide clear explanations of compliance obligations, and a comprehensive review and discussion of recent state and federal laws, regulations and court cases.