California’s “Know Your Rights” Notice Is Ready For Employer Distribution

By Swerdlow Florence Sanchez Swerdlow & Wimmer

January 12, 2026

The state of California has published its new “Know Your Rights” notice.  All California employers are required to distribute this notice – or an equivalent notice that satisfies the requirements of the Know Your Rights Act– to all current employees by February 1, 2026.  Moving forward, employers also must provide this notice to each new hire and to all employees annually.

Employers can distribute the notice in whichever method they normally use to communicate employment-related information with their employees, provided that the notice can be received within one business day of sending it. 

The State has already made English and Spanish versions of the template notice available, and other languages will be made available as they are added here.  Employers should utilize the appropriate version(s) to match the language the employer normally uses to communicate with their employees.

Employers should keep a record of the distribution of these notices for 3 years, including documenting the date(s) that each written notice is provided or sent to an employee.  It is not required that the employee sign the notice.

As referenced on page 2 of the notice template, employers also must allow employees to designate an emergency contact related to the rights summarized in the notice.  An employer must then notify the designated emergency contact if and when the employer becomes aware that an employee has been arrested or detained at work.

For more details on this Know Your Rights notice and the other workplace laws new in 2026, please see our recent e-alert here.

www.swerdlowlaw.com