Workplace Immigration Rights in California: Know Your Rights at Work

In California, workers have the right to be paid, to be safe and to be free from retaliation regardless of immigration status, and employers must give every employee an annual written notice of their workplace rights under the Workplace Know Your Rights Act (SB 294). State law also limits how employers can use immigration status, I-9 checks and threats against workers, and requires notice when immigration authorities inspect employment records.

These protections have practical value. A worker who is told “you can’t complain about overtime because of your status” is still owed every dollar of that overtime, and an employer that threatens to report a worker for asserting workplace rights can face penalties and a lawsuit. Knowing the rules ahead of time makes it easier to stay calm and protect yourself if something happens at work.

This guide explains SB 294’s annual notice and emergency contact rights, the laws against immigration-related threats and document abuse, what happens during an I-9 inspection, what the law says when immigration agents come to a worksite, and the steps to take if your rights are violated.

Workers’ rights in California do not depend on immigration status

Labor Code section 1171.5 and Civil Code section 3339 declare that all protections, rights and remedies available under California law, except reinstatement where federal law prohibits it, are available to all individuals regardless of immigration status who have applied for or are employed in California. In practice, that includes:

• Minimum wage, overtime, meal and rest breaks, and timely final pay;
• Paid sick leave and reimbursement of work expenses;
• Workers’ compensation benefits for job injuries (see our guide to workers’ comp for undocumented workers);
• Protection from discrimination and harassment under FEHA, including national origin discrimination;
• Protection from retaliation for complaining about any of the above.

The Labor Commissioner’s office handles wage claims without regard to immigration status, and California law generally bars inquiry into a worker’s immigration status in proceedings to enforce these rights unless the worker’s status is directly at issue. See our comparison of a Labor Commissioner wage claim vs. hiring a lawyer.

💡 Example: Ana earns $18 an hour and works five 9-hour days a week. Her employer refuses to pay overtime, saying she “has no papers.” California requires daily overtime after 8 hours, so she is owed 5 overtime hours each week at $27 an hour, or $135 a week. Over 20 weeks, that is $2,700 in unpaid overtime, regardless of her status.

By the numbers72 hours

SB 294: the Workplace Know Your Rights Act

SB 294, signed in 2025, added the Workplace Know Your Rights Act to the Labor Code (section 1550 and following). It took effect January 1, 2026 and applies to California employers. Its centerpiece is an annual written notice of workers’ rights.

Employers must provide the notice to each current employee by February 1 of each year, and to new employees when they are hired. If workers have a union or other authorized representative, the representative must receive it too. The notice must cover:

• The right to workers’ compensation and how to contact the state Division of Workers’ Compensation;
• The right to notice of inspections by immigration agencies;
• Protection against unfair immigration-related practices;
• The right to organize, join a union and engage in concerted activity; and
• Workers’ constitutional rights when interacting with law enforcement at the workplace.

The notice may be delivered in person, by mail, by email or text, or another method reasonably expected to reach you within one business day, and it must be in the language the employer normally uses to communicate with you. The Labor Commissioner publishes a template notice in multiple languages. Employers must keep records of compliance for three years, and violations can lead to penalties of up to $500 per employee per violation.

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Naming an emergency contact

SB 294 also gives employees the right to designate an emergency contact to be notified if they are arrested or detained. Employers were required to offer this option to existing employees by March 30, 2026, and must offer it to new hires.

If you choose to designate a contact, and you are arrested or detained at your worksite, during work hours, or while performing job duties elsewhere, your employer must notify that contact when it has actual knowledge of the arrest or detention. You decide whether to designate someone and who it should be. Penalties for violating the emergency contact provisions can reach up to $10,000 per employee.

Practical tips:

• Choose someone reliable who can act quickly, such as a family member who can arrange child care or contact a lawyer.
• Make sure the phone number is current and update it when it changes.
• Keep a copy of the form you submitted.

Immigration threats and retaliation are illegal

Labor Code section 1019 prohibits employers from engaging in “unfair immigration-related practices” against workers who exercise their rights, such as complaining about unpaid wages, filing a claim or reporting a safety hazard. Prohibited practices include:

• Threatening to report, or reporting, the immigration status of a worker or a worker’s family member;
• Requesting more or different documents than the law requires, or refusing documents that appear genuine;
• Using the federal E-Verify system in a way federal law does not require; and
• Threatening to file, or filing, a false police report.

If an employer takes one of these actions within 90 days after a worker exercises protected rights, the law presumes it was retaliation unless the employer proves otherwise. Workers can sue for damages and other relief, and employers face civil penalties. Labor Code section 244 adds that reporting or threatening to report immigration status can itself be an adverse action. Starting January 1, 2027, AB 2495 expands section 1019 to cover conduct based on a worker’s perceived immigration status and to protect applicants and former employees; see our guide to new California employment laws for 2027.

These protections work alongside FEHA’s prohibition on national origin discrimination and general retaliation protections.

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I-9 rules and E-Verify limits

Federal law requires employers to verify work authorization using Form I-9 when you are hired. California law limits how employers carry out that process. Under Labor Code section 1019.1, it is an unfair immigration-related practice for an employer, while verifying work authorization, to:

• Request more or different documents than federal law requires;
• Refuse to honor documents that on their face reasonably appear genuine;
• Refuse to honor documents based on the specific status or term of status that accompanies the authorization to work; or
• Attempt to reinvestigate or reverify an existing employee’s authorization using an unfair immigration-related practice.

Violations of section 1019.1 can carry a penalty of up to $10,000 per violation. Separately, Labor Code section 2814 generally prohibits using E-Verify to check current employees, or applicants who have not received a job offer, at a time or in a manner federal law does not require.

Key fact

Notice of I-9 inspections: Labor Code 90.2

Immigration authorities sometimes inspect an employer’s I-9 forms. Labor Code section 90.2 requires the employer to post a notice within 72 hours of receiving a Notice of Inspection, informing employees of the inspection, the agency involved, the date of the notice and the nature of the inspection. Employers must also give affected employees, within 72 hours of receiving the results, a copy of any notice identifying problems with their documents, along with information about the deadline to respond and the right to representation.

Employers that fail to give these notices can face penalties of $2,000 to $5,000 for a first violation and $5,000 to $10,000 for each later violation. Federal courts have upheld this notice requirement.

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When immigration agents come to a worksite

Document	Signed by	What it generally allows
Judicial warrant	A judge	Entry and search of the places described in the warrant
Administrative warrant (for example, Forms I-200 or I-205)	An immigration officer	Generally does not by itself authorize entry into nonpublic areas without consent
Notice of Inspection	Immigration agency	Requires the employer to produce I-9 forms, usually with at least three business days’ notice

California’s AB 450 (Government Code 7285.1 to 7285.3) was written to bar employers from voluntarily giving immigration agents access to nonpublic areas or employee records without a judicial warrant or subpoena. In 2018, however, a federal court blocked enforcement of those access provisions against private employers, so they generally cannot be enforced against private businesses today. Many employers still choose to ask for a judicial warrant and to direct agents to a designated manager.

Your SB 294 notice will describe your constitutional rights when law enforcement is at the workplace. In general terms, everyone has the right to remain silent and the right to speak with a lawyer. Do not run, do not resist, and do not carry or present false documents.

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What to do if your rights are violated

1. Write down what happened, including the date, who said what and any witnesses.
2. Keep copies of your SB 294 notice, emergency contact form, pay stubs and any notices about I-9 inspections.
3. Save threats in writing, such as texts or voicemails, without editing them.
4. Do not sign documents you don’t understand, especially in a language you don’t read well.
5. File a claim or complaint with the Labor Commissioner or the Civil Rights Department, or talk to a lawyer about a lawsuit.
6. Act quickly. Some claims have deadlines as short as one year.

Our firm offers free, confidential consultations in English and Spanish. Our Spanish-language practice is Empleados Primero (https://empleadosprimero.com/).

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Frequently asked questions

Do workers’ rights in California depend on immigration status?

No. California’s wage, safety, workers’ compensation and anti-discrimination protections apply regardless of immigration status, with narrow exceptions such as reinstatement where federal law prohibits it.

When must my employer give me the SB 294 notice?

By February 1 each year for current employees, and at hire for new employees, in the language your employer normally uses to communicate with you.

Can my employer ask for my documents again after I was hired?

Only when federal law requires it, such as when a temporary work authorization expires. Reverifying or demanding extra documents as retaliation is illegal under California law.

Can my employer threaten to call immigration if I file a wage claim?

No. That is an unfair immigration-related practice under Labor Code 1019, and it can lead to penalties and damages.

Will filing a wage claim reveal my immigration status?

The Labor Commissioner does not require immigration status to process wage claims, and California law limits inquiry into status in proceedings to enforce workplace rights.

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