Labor Code §90.2 – Notice of I-9 Inspections

California Labor Code section 90.2 says that when an immigration agency notifies your employer that it will inspect I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification forms or other employment records, your employer must post a notice telling current employees within 72 hours. Within 72 hours of receiving the agency’s written inspection results, the employer must give each affected employee a copy of the results and a written notice explaining what happens next.

This page is a statute guide: what each part of section 90.2 says, who it covers, the exceptions, the penalties and the deadlines. For step-by-step help if immigration agents show up at your workplace, see our guide to ICE at California job sites.

What Labor Code 90.2 says

Section 90.2 came from the Immigrant Worker Protection Act (AB 450, enacted in 2017), and its current text has been in force since January 1, 2018. When the federal government sued to block AB 450, the courts left section 90.2’s employee-notice rules in place; the Ninth Circuit affirmed that ruling in 2019. It does two jobs. First, it makes your employer warn the workforce before an I-9 inspection. Second, it makes your employer tell the specific workers flagged by the inspection what the agency found and what they need to do. Both duties apply “except as otherwise required by federal law.”

Subdivision	What it says (paraphrased)
(a)(1)	Within 72 hours of receiving notice of an inspection of I-9 forms or other employment records by an immigration agency, the employer must post a notice to current employees, in the language it normally uses to communicate employment-related information. Written notice also goes to the employees’ authorized representative, if any, within 72 hours.
(a)(2)	The Labor Commissioner had to develop a template posting by July 1, 2018. The template is posted on the DIR website.
(a)(3)	On reasonable request, the employer must give an affected employee a copy of the Notice of Inspection.
(b)(1)	Within 72 hours of receiving the agency’s written results, the employer must give each current affected employee, and their authorized representative, a copy of the results and a written notice of the obligations the results create for the employer and the employee.
(b)(2)	Defines “affected employee.”
(c)	Civil penalties, recoverable by the Labor Commissioner, with an exception for notice withheld at the federal government’s direction.
(d)	“Authorized representative” means an exclusive collective bargaining representative, in practice your union.
(e)	The section “applies to public and private employers.”
(f)	Nothing in the chapter restricts compliance with an E-Verify memorandum of understanding.

What the posted notice must include

• The name of the immigration agency conducting the inspection.
• The date the employer received notice of the inspection.
• “The nature of the inspection to the extent known.”
• A copy of the Notice of Inspection of I-9 forms for the inspection.

What the results notice must include

The written notice that goes with the results must relate to the affected employee only. It must cover:

• A description of any deficiencies or other items the agency identified that relate to that employee.
• The time period for correcting any potential deficiencies.
• The time and date of any meeting with the employer to correct them.
• Notice that the employee has the right to representation during any such meeting.

The results notice must be delivered by hand at the workplace if possible. If not, it goes by mail and by email if the employer knows your email address, and to your union if you have one.

By the numbers72 hours

Who section 90.2 covers

Employers: every California employer, public or private. Subdivision (e) says so directly, so city, county, school district and state jobs are included.

Employees: the inspection posting goes to all current employees, not just those whose paperwork is questioned. The results notice goes to each “affected employee,” which the statute defines as someone the inspection results identify as an employee “who may lack work authorization,” or whose work authorization documents the inspection identified as having deficiencies.

Unions: if you are covered by a collective bargaining agreement, your exclusive bargaining representative must get written notice of the inspection and a copy of the results that concern the employees it represents.

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Exceptions and limits

• Federal law comes first. Both notice duties apply “except as otherwise required by federal law.”
• Federal direction. No penalty applies when an employer fails to give notice “at the express and specific direction or request of the federal government.”
• E-Verify. Subdivision (f) says nothing in the chapter restricts an employer’s compliance with a memorandum of understanding governing the federal E-Verify system.
• Scope. Section 90.2 is about inspections of I-9 forms and employment records. Whether agents may enter non-public areas of a workplace, or see records without a subpoena or judicial warrant, is addressed by Government Code 7285.1 and 7285.2 (see the related sections below). In the same federal lawsuit, a court in 2018 blocked enforcement of those two sections against private employers, and California did not appeal that part of the ruling.

Penalties and enforcement

Under subdivision (c), an employer that violates section 90.2 faces a civil penalty of:

• $2,000 to $5,000 for a first violation, and
• $5,000 to $10,000 for each subsequent violation.

The statute says the penalty “shall be recoverable by the Labor Commissioner.” Section 90.2 doesn’t describe a separate lawsuit by employees for the penalty itself. If you were threatened, disciplined or fired for asking about an inspection or for exercising your rights, other statutes can apply, including Labor Code 1019 (unfair immigration-related practices) and Labor Code 98.6 (retaliation for exercising Labor Code rights).

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Deadlines at a glance

Step	Deadline	Source
Post notice of the inspection for current employees, and give written notice to the union	Within 72 hours of the employer receiving notice of the inspection	Labor Code 90.2(a)(1)
Give affected employees and the union a copy of the results and the written notice of obligations	Within 72 hours of the employer receiving the results	Labor Code 90.2(b)(1)
Employer produces I-9 forms to the federal agency	At least three business days after the Notice of Inspection is served	ICE Form I-9 inspection fact sheet
Correcting technical or procedural I-9 failures	At least ten business days after the agency’s notice of those failures	ICE Form I-9 inspection fact sheet
Retaliation complaint with the Labor Commissioner, if you were punished	Within one year of the retaliation; may be extended for good cause	Labor Code 98.7(a)

By the numbers$10,000

Related sections

Section	What it adds
Gov. Code 7285.1	Unless federal law requires otherwise, an employer may not voluntarily consent to an immigration enforcement agent entering non-public areas of a workplace without a judicial warrant. Penalties match section 90.2: $2,000 to $5,000 for a first violation, $5,000 to $10,000 for each later one. A 2018 federal court order blocks enforcement against private employers.
Gov. Code 7285.2	An employer may not voluntarily give an immigration enforcement agent access to employee records without a subpoena or judicial warrant. The rule doesn’t apply to I-9 forms and related documents covered by a Notice of Inspection. A 2018 federal court order blocks enforcement against private employers.
Labor Code 1019	Bars unfair immigration-related practices, such as threats about immigration status, against workers who exercise their rights. See our Labor Code 1019 explainer.
Labor Code 1019.2	Unless federal law requires it, an employer may not reverify a current employee’s work eligibility at a time or in a manner federal law doesn’t require. Civil penalty of up to $10,000. A 2018 federal court order blocks enforcement of the reverification ban against private employers.
Labor Code 1553(a)(2)	The yearly Workplace Know Your Rights notice must tell workers about their right to notice of immigration inspections under section 90.2(a). See our Labor Code 1550–1559 explainer.
Labor Code 98.6 and 98.7	Protect you from retaliation for exercising Labor Code rights and set the Labor Commissioner’s complaint process. See our Labor Code 98.6 explainer.

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How section 90.2 plays out

💡 Example: A hypothetical food processing plant with a union contract receives a Notice of Inspection from an immigration agency at 10 a.m. on a Tuesday. Section 90.2 gives it 72 hours, so the posting for current employees, and written notice to the union, must be done by 10 a.m. Friday. The agency’s results letter arrives at 2 p.m. the following Monday and identifies deficiencies in three workers’ documents. Each of those three workers, and the union, must receive a copy of the results and a written notice of the correction period, any meeting date and the right to representation by 2 p.m. Thursday. If the plant skips the posting entirely, it faces a civil penalty of $2,000 to $5,000 for a first violation, and $5,000 to $10,000 for each later one.

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What to do if your employer ignored section 90.2

1. Write down when you first heard about the inspection, and whether anything was posted or sent to you. Take a photo of any posting if you can do so safely.
2. If you are an affected employee, ask in writing for a copy of the Notice of Inspection. Subdivision (a)(3) requires the employer to provide it on reasonable request.
3. Read the results notice carefully. Note the correction deadline and the meeting date, and remember you have the right to bring a representative to that meeting.
4. Report a missing posting or results notice to the Labor Commissioner’s Office. The Labor Commissioner says it will not question workers’ immigration status or report it to other agencies.
5. If you were threatened, disciplined, cut back or fired after asking about the inspection, file a retaliation complaint within one year or talk to a lawyer about a lawsuit. Our retaliation claims page explains your options.

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FAQ: Labor Code 90.2

Does section 90.2 cover an immigration raid or a search with a warrant?

Section 90.2 covers inspections of I-9 forms and other employment records. Entry by immigration agents into non-public parts of a workplace, and voluntary access to records, are addressed by Government Code 7285.1 and 7285.2, although a 2018 federal court order blocks enforcement of those two sections against private employers. More than one law can apply to the same visit.

Who is an “affected employee” under section 90.2(b)(2)?

An employee the inspection results identify as possibly lacking work authorization, or whose work authorization documents the inspection found deficient. Only affected employees receive the individual results notice, but every current employee is entitled to see the inspection posting.

Does section 90.2 apply to public employers?

Yes. Subdivision (e) says the section “applies to public and private employers.”

What language must the posting be in?

The language the employer normally uses to communicate employment-related information to employees. The Labor Commissioner publishes a template employers can use.

Can an employer avoid a penalty by saying the government told it to stay quiet?

Only if the failure to give notice was “at the express and specific direction or request of the federal government.” A general wish to avoid alarming the workforce is not an exception in the statute.

Does my union have to be told?

Yes. If you have an exclusive collective bargaining representative, it must receive written notice of the inspection within 72 hours and a copy of the results notice for the employees it represents.

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Sources

• Labor Code §90.2 (California Public Law mirror of leginfo, verified Oct. 26, 2026)
• DIR Labor Commissioner: Employer Requirement to Notify Employees of Inspection by Immigration Agencies
• DIR template: Notice to Employees of Inspection (LC 90.2)
• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: Form I-9 Inspection fact sheet
• Government Code §7285.1 (mirror) and §7285.2 (mirror)
• Labor Code §1019.2 (mirror) and §1553 (mirror)
• United States v. California (9th Cir. 2019), opinion
• DIR Labor Commissioner: How to file a retaliation complaint

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