By Eric D. Morton
California Employers: Don’t Overlook Your Annual Obligations Under SB 294 (Workplace – Know Your Rights Act)
Effective February 1, 2026, the Workplace – Know Your Rights Act, enacted through SB 294, requires employers to provide employees with specific information about their rights under California law. This law requires employers to provide employees with annual written notice of important workplace rights. The notice must be given in a manner that the employer normally uses to comunicate with employees, such as email or text.
What Is SB 294?
The Workplace – Know Your Rights Act, was enacted to increase transparency regarding employee rights and to ensure that workers are informed of protections available under California law. The law imposes affirmative obligations on employers to provide written notice to employees about their rights, including information concerning:
- The employee’s rate(s) of pay and basis of pay
- Allowances claimed as part of minimum wage (e.g., meals or lodging, if applicable)
- The employer’s regular payday
- The employer’s legal name, physical address, and contact information
- Workers’ compensation coverage information
- Paid sick leave rights and other applicable statutory protections
- The right to advance notice of inspection by immigration authorities
- Protection from retaliatory immigration-related practices
While many of these requirements overlap with Labor Code section 2810.5 (the Wage Theft Prevention Act notice), SB 294 reinforces the importance of ensuring that the information provided to employees is complete, accurate, and kept current.
Annual Notification Requirement
Employers must provide written notice to employees at the time of hire and whenever any of the required information changes. In practice, many employers satisfy the “annual” aspect of compliance by conducting a yearly audit of their wage notices and reissuing updated notices if necessary.
Although the statute does not require re-notification if no information has changed, best practice is to:
- Conduct an annual compliance review of wage notice forms and postings.
- Confirm that all required disclosures remain accurate (including pay rates, business entity names, addresses, and insurance information).
- Reissue updated notices promptly if any changes have occurred.
Practical Compliance Considerations
For multi-location or multi-state employers, California-specific requirements may differ from those in other jurisdictions. We recommend:
- Coordinating with payroll and HR to verify pay rate classifications and exemption status.
- Confirming that workers’ compensation carrier information is current.
- Reviewing onboarding packets to ensure compliant forms are being used.
- Retaining signed acknowledgments of receipt in personnel files.
Failure to provide accurate wage notices can expose employers to statutory penalties, including per-employee penalties and potential exposure in Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) actions.
Action Steps for Employers
- Calendar an annual compliance audit.
- Review all onboarding and wage notice templates for accuracy.
- Train HR personnel on when updated notices must be issued.
- Consult counsel when implementing compensation changes or restructuring entities.
- The State of California provides templates in English and Spanish.
California’s regulatory environment continues to evolve, and even seemingly administrative requirements can carry significant liability if overlooked. A proactive annual review of your SB 294 notice obligations is a relatively simple step that can help avoid costly disputes.
Eric D. Morton is the principal attorney at Clear Sky Law Group, P.C. He can be reached at emorton@clearskylaw.com, 760-722-6582, and 510-556-0367.
