WHAT’S NEW IN 2026 SIGN OF THE TIMES « Law Offices of Timothy Bowles

“Workplace Know Your Rights Act”
Response to Federal Raids

Beginning February 1, 2026, all California employers must provide each worker an annual, stand-alone notice summarizing key labor protections and constitutional rights. While commercially available “poster sets” of various workplace laws have been common, these incoming Labor Code sections aim to standardize and, in the face of growing Homeland Security aggression, expand the scope of such notices.

“Provide” means individual distribution (including to new hires and any authorized union rep). Employers may use any ordinary channel (personal service, email, text) reasonably expected to reach the employee within one business day. Management must retain compliance records for three years.

At minimum, the notice must describe: (1) workers’ compensation rights; (2) the right to receive notice of immigration-agency inspections and protection against unfair immigration-related practices; (3) the right to organize or engage in concerted activity; (4) employees’ constitutional rights when interacting with law enforcement at work (e.g., freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures and the Fifth Amendment rights to due process and against self-incrimination); plus a list of enforcement agencies and any new legal developments the Labor Commissioner deems material.

The Labor Commissioner must post a template notice by Jan. 1, 2026, updated annually, and make it available in multiple languages (including English, Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean, Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi). The Labor Commissioner must publish employee and employer explainer videos by July 1, 2026. Employers may also share or link the videos when distributing the written notice.

If an employee opts in, the employer must notify the worker’s designated emergency contact if the employee is arrested or detained on the worksite; if the incident happens off-site during work hours or job duties, notice is required only if the employer has actual knowledge. Employers must give existing employees the chance to designate a contact by March 30, 2026, and collect this information from new hires after that.

The law has teeth. Management may not retaliate against an employee for exercising rights under the Act or assisting an investigation into violations. The Labor Commissioner can investigate, issue citations, and file civil actions, and public prosecutors may also enforce the Act. Civil penalties are up to $500 per employee per violation and, for violation of the arrest/detention notification provisions, up to $500 per employee per day, capped at $10,000 per employee. Courts may award injunctive relief, punitive damages, and reasonable attorneys’ fees. Local ordinances may provide greater protection.

Take Aways:

New Labor Code sections 1550 – 1554 expand “know your rights” from a poster-wall concept into a recurring, trackable employer obligation tied to meaningful penalties. Best practices include:

Calendar the deadlines: Pull the state template, available by Jan. 1, 2026; deliver your first annual notice by Feb. 1, 2026; and roll out emergency-contact designations to existing staff by March 30, 2026;
Determine delivery method: Choose email, text, or personal service that reliably reaches employees within one business day; create a three-year recordkeeping process capturing send/provide dates;
Include multilingual distribution: Plan to use the Labor Commissioner’s language versions and match the language you typically use for employment communications; and
Update onboarding and policies: Add the notice and emergency-contact options to new-hire packets; train HR, managers and security on law-enforcement interactions and the non-retaliation rules.

For further information, please contact Tim Bowles, Cindy Bamforth or Helena Kobrin.

Contact Us

If you are an employer facing possible litigation, or have an employee issue on which you need immediate guidance, call us to set up a consultation, or submit your message.

NOTE: Use of this website does not make one a client of the Law Offices of Timothy Bowles (“Firm” or “Bowles Law”). Establishing an attorney-client relationship and the confidentiality that comes with it depends on the Firm’s prior confirmation that no factor, including any conflict of interest (for example, our representation of another party adverse to you), exists to prevent that establishment. If you have confidential information that you would like to provide a Bowles Law attorney, please communicate directly to one of our attorneys, in person, by telephone, email, fax or other written means. Do not use this website to offer or communicate confidential information about any legal matter.