California has taken a major step forward in ensuring all workers are informed of their labor and civil rights with the passage of Senate Bill 294 – The Workplace Know Your Rights Act. The bill was authored by Senator Eloise Gómez Reyes to promote transparency and accountability while strengthening due process in the workplace. SB 294 requires employers to provide workers with written notice of their rights under state and federal law, especially their constitutional safeguards during law enforcement interactions.
In the Bay Area just last week, federal agents, including those from U.S. Customs & Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were staging a major enforcement operation at a Coast Guard Base in Alameda. While the mass deployment of troops was officially paused, isolated detentions continue, last week a San Jose worker was taken out of an East San Jose nonprofit employment center, handcuffed, and driven off in an unmarked SUV. This kind of enforcement activity and the rise in worksite raids have undermined due process and weakened civil and labor protections. They have also created an atmosphere of fear and confusion for workers making it harder for them to understand their rights, assert them, or access protections when violations occur.
The bill, which is effective immediately, tasks the Labor Commissioner’s Office with publishing a multilingual notice by January 1, 2026, which employers must distribute to employees by February 1, 2026, and annually thereafter. The notice will inform workers of their rights related to workers’ compensation, immigration-related protections, and union activity. Additionally, by July 1, 2026, the Labor Commissioner will produce educational videos for both workers and employers, making sure that information about workplace rights is not only distributed, but understood. The law also mandates that employers offer workers the option to designate an emergency contact to be notified if the worker is detained during work hours.
SB 294 aligns closely with the work of community advocacy organization CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights), which has published a guide for workers on what to do and say if approached by immigration enforcement. CAAA has long recognized that protecting a client’s immigration status is critical to safeguarding their access to workers’ compensation and other legal protections. To that end, CAAA’s Latino Caucus developed a Practice tip (for CAAA Members only) - Immigration Status and the Representation of Undocumented Workers, which offers practical guidance to help attorneys navigate these sensitive issues while ensuring their clients’ rights remain fully protected. By reinforcing worker education and due process, SB 294 helps advance some of the same values that have guided CAAA’s advocacy since inception: dignity, fairness, and equal protection under the law for every worker in California.
