California SB 294 Now in Effect: New Annual Employee Notice and Emergency Contact Requirements, by Dove A.E. Burns, Esq. and Kartikey A. Pradhan, Esq., 3-10-2026

California’s Senate Bill 294 (SB 294), also known as the Workplace Know Your Rights Act, took effect January 1, 2026, and imposes new annual workplace‑rights notice obligations and emergency‑contact procedures on California employers.

Annual Written Workplace Rights Notice

Deadline and frequency

By February 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, employers must provide all current California employees with a stand‑alone written notice describing specified workers’ rights. Employers who did not meet the February 1, 2026 deadline should distribute the required notice as soon as possible and consult counsel regarding potential exposure. 

The law also requires the employer to provide the written notice to each new employee upon hire and to provide the written notice annually to an employee’s authorized representative, if any.

The notice can be delivered by methods such as personal delivery, email, or text message, as long as the employee is reasonably likely to receive it within one business day.

Required content

Among requirements, the notice must contain a description of workers’ rights in the following areas including:

• 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 receive notice when the employer is served with a workplace immigration inspection notice, to the extent required by law.
• Protection against unfair immigration-related practices against a person exercising protected rights.
• The right to organize a union or engage in concerted activity in the workplace.
• Constitutional rights when interacting with law enforcement at the workplace, including an employee’s right under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures and rights under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution to due process and against self-incrimination.

Template and languages

To assist employers, the California Labor Commissioner, through the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), has created a template “Know Your Rights” notice.

Employers must provide the notice in the language the employer normally uses to communicate employment‑related information to the employee and that the employee understands, if the Labor Commissioner has provided a template in that language; otherwise, the notice may be provided in English.

The bill further requires the Labor Commissioner, on or before July 1, 2026, to create informational videos for both employees and employers addressing the rights and compliance obligations set forth above.

Recordkeeping

Employers should maintain records of compliance for at least three years, including the date that each written notice is provided or sent.

Emergency Contact Designation & Notification Requirement

By March 30, 2026, and at the time of hire for each new employee on and after that date, employers must provide employees with the opportunity to:

• Designate an emergency contact; and
• Indicate whether that contact should be notified if the employee is arrested or detained.

Employers must also allow employees to update or change emergency contact information and notification preferences during employment.

Notification obligation

If an employee elects to have the emergency contact notified, the employer must notify the designated contact if:

• The employee is arrested or detained at the worksite; or
• The employee is arrested or detained during work hours or while performing job duties offsite, but only if the employer has actual knowledge of the arrest or detention.

Anti‑Retaliation & Enforcement

Employers may not discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, or otherwise retaliate against an employee for exercising rights under SB 294.

The Labor Commissioner is required to enforce SB 294, and public prosecutors are alternatively authorized to bring enforcement actions.

Penalties for Non‑Compliance

• Failure to provide the required workplace‑rights notice may result in civil penalties of up to $500 per employee for each violation.
• Failure to comply with emergency‑contact obligations may result in civil penalties of up to $500 per employee for each day the violation occurs, up to a maximum of $10,000 per employee.

Next Steps

Employers with California employees should:

• If they have not already done so, immediately distribute the Workplace Know Your Rights notice to current employees and ensure new hires receive it at or before the start of employment.
• Deliver notices through the same channels used for other employment‑related communications (for example, email, electronic portal, or hard copy), and track distribution.
• Build or update HRIS/onboarding and handbook processes to: (1) collect emergency contact designations and opt‑in preferences by March 30, 2026, and at hire thereafter; and (2) allow easy updates to emergency contact information.
• Train HR, managers, and front‑line supervisors on when and how to notify emergency contacts if an employee is arrested or detained, emphasizing the “actual knowledge” trigger and anti‑retaliation protections.
• Maintain at least three years of records documenting notice distribution and emergency‑contact opportunities and designations.

Bottom Line: SB 294’s requirements are in effect now. Employers with California employees should promptly review onboarding procedures, notice templates and distribution practices, and emergency‑contact processes to ensure compliance with the statute’s requirements, and move quickly to address any missed February 1, 2026 notice obligations before the March 30, 2026 emergency‑contact deadline.

Authors: Dove A.E. Burns, Regional Managing Partner of KD’s California offices and Managing Partner of its New Haven office and Kartikey A. Pradhan, San Francisco Partner.