What Is California's New "Know Your Rights" Poster?

Starting February 1, 2026, every California employer must provide a stand-alone written notice called the "Workplace Know Your Rights" notice to all current employees. New hires must receive it at the time of employment. This is an annual requirement going forward, separate from your existing workplace poster obligations.

The notice comes from Senate Bill 294, the Workplace Know Your Rights Act. Governor Newsom signed it on October 12, 2025. It adds Labor Code Sections 1550 through 1559. The penalty for not providing it is up to $500 per employee per violation.

You can read the full bill text here: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB294

Here is the key language from Section 1553(a):

"On or before February 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, an employer shall provide a stand-alone written notice to each current employee pursuant to this section in a manner the employer normally uses to communicate employment-related information."

This goes beyond a standard posting requirement. The notice must be stand-alone, provided in the language the employee understands, and the employer must keep records of when it was provided or sent.

Where Did This Come From?

SB 294 is called the Workplace Know Your Rights Act. The California Legislature passed it in response to increased immigration enforcement activity. The stated intent, from Section 1550(b), is to "equip workers with knowledge of their rights that they can also use to protect their families, neighbors, and communities."

Governor Newsom signed it into law on October 12, 2025. It took effect January 1, 2026. The first compliance deadline is February 1, 2026.

The California Labor Commissioner published the official template notice on the DIR website. It is available in English, Spanish, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Vietnamese, Korean, Tagalog, Hindi, Punjabi, Arabic, and Urdu.

What Does the Notice Cover?

The notice is five pages long. It covers seven categories of rights:

1. Protection against retaliation for exercising workplace rights (filing complaints, asking about compliance, talking with coworkers about rights)

2. Workers' compensation benefits, including the right to medical care and disability pay for work-related injuries

3. Immigration-related protections, including the right to 72-hour advance notice when an employer receives an I-9 inspection notice from immigration authorities

4. Protections against unfair immigration-related practices, including prohibitions on employers threatening to report workers to immigration authorities

5. The right to organize a union or engage in protected activity with coworkers

6. Constitutional rights when interacting with law enforcement at work, including Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and Fifth Amendment right to remain silent

7. Emergency contact designation. Employees can name someone to be notified if they are arrested or detained at work

The notice also lists contact information for government agencies where employees can file complaints if they believe their rights were violated. This includes the Labor Commissioner's Office, Cal/OSHA, the Civil Rights Department, the NLRB, and others.

How Do I Have to Provide It?

The statute says employers must provide the notice "in a manner the employer normally uses to communicate employment-related information." Acceptable methods include worksite distribution, personal service, email, or text message.

What makes this different from a typical posting requirement is the combination of three things:

1. It must be a stand-alone written notice. You cannot fold it into your employee handbook or bury it in a packet of other documents.

2. It must be in the language you normally use with that employee, as long as that version is available on the Labor Commissioner's website.

3. You must keep records of when each employee received it. The statute requires employers to maintain compliance records for three years, including the date each notice was provided or sent.

For onsite employees, distributing it at the worksite counts. For remote employees, email or text message works. The key is documentation. You need a record that shows each employee was provided the notice and when.

For current employees: provide by February 1, 2026, and then annually by February 1 each year.

For new hires: provide upon employment.

For collective bargaining representatives: provide annually.

What About Remote Employees?

Remote employees in California must receive the same notice. Email or text message counts, as long as that is how you normally communicate employment-related information to them.

For employers with distributed teams, the recordkeeping piece is the real challenge. You need to track that each remote employee was provided the notice, in their correct language, and document the date. A digital compliance platform like ePoster helps you send required notices to remote employees and keep a record that they received them.

What Are the Penalties?

SB 294 includes two penalty structures under Labor Code Section 1558.

For failing to provide the Know Your Rights notice: up to $500 per employee for each violation.

For failing to notify a designated emergency contact after an employee is arrested or detained at work: up to $500 per employee per day. The maximum is $10,000 per employee.

The Labor Commissioner enforces these penalties. A public prosecutor can also bring enforcement actions. Employees can recover penalties as statutory or civil penalties, but not both for the same violation.

Employers are also prohibited from retaliating against any employee who exercises or tries to exercise their rights under SB 294.

What About the Emergency Contact Requirement?

This is a separate obligation within the same law. By March 30, 2026, employers must allow employees to designate an emergency contact. This contact would be notified if the employee is arrested or detained at the worksite or while performing job duties off-site.

Employees choose whether to designate someone. It is their decision. But the employer must give them the opportunity.

If an employee has designated a contact and gets arrested or detained at work, the employer must notify that contact. This applies when the employer has knowledge of the arrest or detention.

What Records Do I Need to Keep?

The statute requires three years of compliance records. This includes the date each written notice was provided or sent.

In practice, this means you need documentation for every employee. An email acknowledgment, a signed receipt, or a digital tracking system all work.

Tools like ePoster provide built-in acknowledgment tracking. When you send a compliance notice through the platform, you get a record of delivery and employee sign-off. That record is stored and accessible if you need it during an audit or investigation.

What Should I Do Right Now?

If you have California employees, here is what to do before February 1, 2026:

1. Download the template notice from the DIR website

2. Determine how you normally communicate employment-related information to your employees. That is your delivery method.

3. Provide the notice to every current employee. Keep a record of when you provided it and to whom.

4. Update your onboarding process to include the notice for all new hires going forward.

5. By March 30, 2026, give employees the opportunity to designate an emergency contact.

6. Keep all records for at least three years.

If you have remote employees or a multi-language workforce, a digital compliance platform handles distribution, language versions, and acknowledgment tracking in one place. ePoster is built for this.

FAQ

• Do part-time and temporary employees need to receive this notice?

  Yes. SB 294 applies to all employees in California, regardless of employment status. Part-time, temporary, seasonal, and full-time employees all must receive the notice.

• Can I include this notice inside my employee handbook instead of sending it separately?

  The statute specifically requires a "stand-alone written notice." Including it as a section inside a larger handbook or onboarding packet does not meet the requirement. Provide it as its own separate document.

• What if the Labor Commissioner updates the template after I already sent the notice this year?

  The Labor Commissioner updates the template annually. You are required to provide the notice annually by February 1. If a mid-year update happens, the law does not require a second distribution. But it is good practice to send updated versions when they become available, especially if the changes are material

• Does this apply to employers outside California who have remote employees working in California?

  California labor laws generally apply to employees who perform work in California. If you have remote workers based in California, they are covered by SB 294 regardless of where your company is headquartered. You would need to provide the notice to those employees.

• Is there a video option instead of the written notice?

  The Labor Commissioner is developing a video that will be available by July 1, 2026. Once published, employers can share a link to the video or show it to employees. But the video supplements the written notice. It does not replace it. You still need to deliver the written notice by February 1.