If you’re a California employer, you are governed by a lot of rules regarding your employees.
Let’s start with the most immediate: On or before February 1, 2026, and each year after that, an employer must provide employees a required workplace rights notice. The Labor Commissioner has provided templates that can be used and meet the requirements of the law. The notice will be updated annually.
Other major issues
It is against the law for you to retaliate against employees for exercising their rights, including:
- Filing a complaint with the Labor Commissioner, Cal/OSHA, the Civil Rights Department or another government agency.
- Asking about your compliance with federal, state or local law.
- Talking with others about their rights or helping them exercise their rights under federal, state or local law.
Examples of illegal retaliation include firing employees, reducing their work hours or threatening to report employees or their relatives to immigration authorities because they exercised their rights.
Avoid retaliation
Under California law, it is unlawful for employers to retaliate against workers or threaten immigration-related action when they exercise their rights. An employer is prohibited from taking any of the following actions because workers exercised their rights:
- Refusing to accept identification documents during the I-9 process (proof of ID and federal permission to work) that appear to be genuine.
- Using E-Verify in a way not required or authorized by law. For example, using E-Verify to reverify employment eligibility for an employee when not legally required to do so or screening only specific workers rather than all workers in a workplace without a legitimate basis for doing so.
- Reporting or threatening to report an employee or a family member to immigration authorities.
- Filing or threatening to file any false report to the police or a state or federal agency.
Union activity
It is illegal for employers to interfere with or discourage union activity or protected activities. Employers may not threaten workers or retaliate or discriminate against them because of their union support or protected activities.
This is just a short summary! As an employer, you face a lot of state and federal—and often local—requirements. Work with employment professionals to make sure you are in full compliance.