New California Workers’ Rights Laws Require Employer Compliance Updates

California has passed four new laws expanding employees’ rights with regard to notice about employee workplace rights, paid family leave, pay-scale transparency, and access to personnel records.

Senate Bill (SB) 294 requires employers provide a new notice of rights to employees, and upon request, contact their emergency contact if they are arrested at the workplace. SB 590 amends the Unemployment Insurance Code to provide state funded Paid Family Leave benefits to “designated persons,” starting on July 1, 2028. SB 642 clarifies the Pay Transparency Act to require a pay scale be a good faith estimate of what an applicant can expect upon hire, and also expands the statute of limitations and damages that can be obtained for violations of California’s salary parity law. SB 513 expands employees access to personnel records to include education and training records.

SB 294 Requires Employers Provide a New Notice of Rights and Allow for Employee Emergency Contacts in the Event the Employee is Arrested

Senate Bill (SB) 294, also known as the “Workplace Know Your Rights Act,” was signed into law on October 12, 2025. The law appears to be intended educate employees of their civil and labor rights, including immigration related rights. The bill is also intended to protect families who are subject to arrests or detentions while at work.

The law requires employers to: (1) provide their employees a new notice of rights created by the Labor Commissioner, and (2) have employees provide emergency contacts who may be contacted if the employee is arrested or detained at the worksite. This will apply to current employees and new employees moving forward.

A New Notice of Rights

Starting February 1, 2026, employers must upon hire and annually provide all employees and their union representatives with a new stand-alone written notice from the Labor Commissioner’s website to employees regarding their rights.

The notice will include information on:

• workers’ compensation benefits;
• the right to a notice of inspection by immigration agencies;
• information on protection of unfair immigration-related practices against a person exercising rights;
• the right to organize a union; and
• rights under the Fourth and Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The notice must be provided in the language the employee understands if the translation is available on the Labor Commissioner’s website, and otherwise in English. The notice will be updated each year. The bill also mandates that employers post the notice in a conspicuous location.

The Labor Commissioner, a public prosecutor, or an employee may seek penalties for failure to provide the notice, including $500 per employee, injunctive relief, punitive damages, and attorney fees and costs.

Emergency Contacts for Employee Arrests

SB 294 adds Labor Code Section 1555, which requires employers to allow employees to name an emergency contact and indicate whether the emergency contact should be notified if the employee is arrested or detained. If an employer learns that an employee was arrested for any reason during the performance of their job duties, they are required to notify the emergency contact if the employee requested it.

If an employer violates Section 1555, the Labor Commissioner, a public prosecutor, or the employee can seek a penalty of up to $10,000 per employee, injunctive relief, punitive damages, and attorney fees and costs.

Employers have until March 30, 2026 to comply with this provision for existing employees, and must comply with this provision for all new employees after that date.

Additionally, employers may not discriminate or retaliate against an employee based on providing their emergency contact information or because they were required to notify an employee’s emergency contact of their arrest.

SB 294’s new requirements are subject to steep penalties and the laws provide limited time to comply, employers should act promptly to ensure there is no risk of violations.

SB 590 Provides for California Paid Family Leave Benefits to Care for a “Designated Person”

California has a state disability insurance program paid into by workers that allows for eight weeks of wage replacement benefits while the worker cares for a seriously ill family member or bonds with a new child. Starting July 1, 2028, SB 590 allows these state benefits if leave is being sought to care for a “designated person.”

A “designated person” is any care recipient related by blood or whose association with the individual is the equivalent of a family relationship. Workers must identify their designated person and attest under perjury that they are either related by blood or their association is the equivalent of a family relationship.

Employers’ obligations to provide unpaid leave to their employees are unchanged, as the California Family Rights Act already allows unpaid family leave for a “designated person.” However, if an employer has a California Paid Family Leave policy that requires coordination with the state disability benefits program, they may want to update their policy to reflect the changes that will be effective July 1, 2028.

SB 642 Updates California Salary Transparency and Salary Parity Laws

California’s Pay Transparency Act requires employers to share the salary or hourly wage range they reasonably expect to pay for the position with applicants or in job postings. The legislature noted after passing the Pay Transparency Act, some employers provided the range of pay for every employee in a given position, leading to very wide pay scales. SB 642 amends the Labor Code to clarify employers must share “a good faith estimate” of the salary or hourly wage range they expect to pay for the position “upon hire.”

SB 642 also amends a California law that bars employers from paying employees different wage rates for substantially similar work based on sex or race. The law now bars different rates from being paid to “another” sex, as opposed to the “opposite” sex. The bill also increased the statute of limitations for violations to three years from two. Finally, the bill identified that employees can obtain back pay for the rate difference for up to six years that the rates were in violation.  

SB 513 Expands Employee Access to Personnel Records

Effective Jan. 1, 2026, SB 513 expands employee access to personnel records to include education and training records and requires that those records include (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 a training; and (5) the resulting certification or qualification.

Consult with Payne & Fears to Ensure Compliance with the New Laws

Each of these bills may require updates to onboarding documents and employee handbooks. Consult with a Payne & Fears LLP attorney to determine how to comply with these upcoming requirements in order to avoid costly penalties and lawsuits.