The Workplace Know Your Rights Act.

Senator Reyes, alongside a broad coalition of colleagues, seeks to place California workers’ rights on clearer display by requiring employers to deliver a stand-alone written notice to every current employee that describes a defined set of protections and constitutional rights in the workplace. The notice would cover core labor rights such as workers’ compensation benefits, notification about immigration‑related inspections, protection against unfair immigration practices, and the right to organize or engage in concerted activity, including specific constitutional rights when interacting with law enforcement. It would also require the same notice to be provided to new hires and annually to an employee’s authorized representative, if any.

Key mechanisms would center on a state-produced template notice and complementary education materials. The Labor Commissioner would develop the template and publish it on its website by early 2026, with annual updates thereafter, and would also create two videos—one for employees and one for employers—by mid‑2026. The Agricultural Labor Relations Board, the Public Employment Relations Board, and the Attorney General’s office would provide input to shape the template and scripts. The notice must be provided in the language the employer normally uses to communicate with the employee, with translations available through the Labor Commissioner’s website; employers would be allowed to supplement the notice with a link or view of the videos. Employers would keep compliance records for three years, noting the dates each notice was provided or sent, and the bill would authorize enforcement by the Labor Commissioner or a public prosecutor.

The bill also introduces an emergency‑contact feature: if an employee designates an emergency contact, the employer must notify that contact if the employee is arrested or detained on the worksite, with additional conditions governing notifications when such events occur offsite or during work hours. An existing employee would have until March 30, 2026 to designate an emergency contact, while new hires after that date would designate at hire and may update contact information throughout employment. The measure prohibits discharge, demotion, suspension, or retaliation for exercising rights under the act, filing complaints, or cooperating with investigations, with enforcement mechanisms that include penalties of up to $500 per employee per violation, and, for emergency‑contact violations, up to $500 per day per employee up to $10,000 per employee. The Labor Commissioner or a public prosecutor may pursue remedies, and collective bargaining agreements may supersede the act only if the waiver is explicit and unambiguous. The bill also clarifies that it does not preempt city or county protections that are equal or greater.

At a broader level, the Authors frame the proposal as equipping workers with knowledge of both employment and constitutional rights to navigate workplace disruptions and protect families and communities. By establishing a standardized, multilingual template and requiring recurring notices and accessible education materials, the bill situates itself within an enforcement framework that may involve the Labor Commissioner or prosecutors, while maintaining alignment with existing labor and immigration‑related requirements. The measure emphasizes notification, recordkeeping, and nonretaliation, and situates the new rights information within the context of existing labor standards and enforcement mechanisms.