Labor Commissioner Publishes Workplace Know Your Rights Model Notice

The California Labor Commissioner has published the model notice required under California’s new Workplace Know Your Rights Act, which took effect January 1, 2026. Employers have until February 1, 2026, to begin complying with this new law.

The Workplace Know Your Rights Act was among several new employment-related laws that took effect at the beginning of this year. As previously reported, the law requires employers to distribute a new written notice to each employee covering the following topics:

• The right to workers’ compensation benefits, including disability pay and medical care for work-related injuries or illness, as well as the contact information for the Division of Workers’ Compensation.
• The right to notice of inspection by immigration agencies pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 90.2.
• Protection against unfair immigration-related practices against a person exercising protected rights.
• The right to organize a union or engage in protected, concerted activity in the workplace.
• Constitutional rights when interacting with law enforcement at the workplace, including an employee’s right under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures and under the Fifth Amendment to due process and against self-incrimination.
• A description of new legal developments pertaining to laws enforced by the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency that the Labor Commissioner deems material and necessary.
• A list of the enforcement agencies that may enforce the underlying rights in the notice.

Fortunately, employers don’t have to put this notice together from scratch. The Labor Commissioner created a model notice employers may use, which is available in both English and Spanish.

The written notice must be provided to an employee in the language the employer normally uses to communicate employment-related information and which the employee understands. If the Labor Commissioner’s template notice is not available in that language, employers may provide the notice in English. While English and Spanish are the only versions currently available, the Labor Commissioner states it will soon be available in other languages.

Employers must provide this written notice to their employees by February 1, 2026, and annually after that. They must also give the notice to new hires. Employers can provide the notice in several ways, including via email or text message, if it can be reasonably anticipated that the employee will receive it within one business day of sending. Electronic distribution may not necessarily be suitable for all workforces.

Lastly, the law requires employers to keep compliance records for three years, including the date that each written notice is provided or sent.

James W. Ward, J.D., Employment Law Subject Matter Expert/Legal Writer and Editor, CalChamber

CalChamber members can read use the new Workplace Know Your Rights Act Acknowledgment (and in Spanish) to have their employee acknowledge they received the notice as well as other requirements of the new law. Not a member? See how CalChamber can help you.