Employers in California should be aware of the new legislative changes coming in 2026.
The Workplace Know Your Rights Act (SB294) As of February 1, 2026 and each year following, Employers must provide a standalone written notice to each current employee of certain workers’ rights including but not limited to information about workers’ compensation benefits, notice requirements related to inspections conducted by an immigration agency, protection against unfair immigration-related practices, the right to organize a union or engage in concerted activity in the workplace, and constitutional rights when interacting with law enforcement at the workplace. The Labor Commissioner website will publish a template for use by January 1, 2026. The notice must be provided in a manner the employer normally uses to communicate employment-related information. An employer must also provide this notice to a new employee upon hire and to the employee’s authorized representative, if any, by either electronic or regular mail.
Under SB 294 employers must allow employees to name an emergency contact by March 30, 2026, and at the time of hiring for new employees. Such information should be regularly updated and an employee may designate “whether the emergency contact should be notified if the employee is arrested or detained on their worksite, or during work hours or during the performance of the employee’s job duties, but not on the worksite, if the employer has actual knowledge of the arrest or detention of the employee.” If an employee indicates yes, the employer must notify the designated emergency contact if the employee is arrested or detained on its worksite.
SB 294 requirements may be superseded, in whole or in part, by a collective bargaining agreement, “if the waiver is explicitly set forth in the agreement in clear and unambiguous terms.”
SB 294 includes an anti-retaliation provision protecting employees who exercise or attempt to exercise rights under the new law.
The Labor Commissioner or a public prosecutor may enforce SB 294 and seek temporary or preliminary injunctive relief, punitive damages, and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. Employers who violate SB 294 may be subject to a penalty of up to five hundred dollars ($500) per employee for each violation, except that for a violation of the emergency contact-related requirement under the new Section 1555 of the Labor Code, a penalty up to five hundred dollars ($500) per employee for each day the violation occurs, up to a maximum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per employee.” An employee, the Labor Commissioner, or a public prosecutor may recover a penalty under this part as a statutory penalty paid to the employee or a civil penalty, but not both, for the same violation.”
Personnel Records to Include Education or Training Records (SB 513) SB 513 expands the Labor Code § 1198.5 to permit employees to inspect and receive copies of their “personnel records” which must now include “education or training records.” These records should include the following: (1) the name of the employee; (2) the name of the training provider; (3) the duration and date of the training: (4) the core competencies of the training, including skills in equipment or software; and (5) the resulting certification or qualification.
Expanded PFL Benefits to Include Care for Designated Person (SB 590) On July 1, 2028, Paid Family Leave (PFL) will be expanded to include eligibility for benefits for individuals who take time off work to care for a seriously ill designated person, in addition to a family member. A “designated person” is defined as “any care recipient related by blood or whose association with the individual is the equivalent of a family relationship.” An employee seeking benefits for the care of a designated person must identify the designated person at the time of their first claim and, under penalty of perjury, attest to how the relationship is blood-related or the equivalent of a family relationship.
Wage and Hour Penalties for Unpaid Wage Judgments (SB 261) SB 261 creates Labor Code § 230.05 which states that if a final judgment arising from nonpayment of wages for work performed in California remains unsatisfied after a period of 180 days after the time to appeal has expired and no appeal is pending, the judgment debtor (employer) shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed three times the outstanding judgment amount, including post-judgment interest. Under this new law, a court “shall” assess the entire amount of the penalty, “except to the extent that the court finds that the judgment debtor has demonstrated by clear and convincing evidence good cause to reduce the amount of the penalty.” Penalties assessed pursuant to this section are to be distributed 50% to the employee or employees in whose favor the judgment was rendered, and 50% to the DLSE.
JoLynn Scharrer is a shareholder at Hunt Ortmann and leads the Firm’s Labor & Employment and Insurance Practice. She can be reached at scharrer@huntortmann.com for further information and assistance.
