California employers have until March 30 to give employees an opportunity to designate emergency contacts to be notified if they are detained or arrested at work. This requirement is part of the state’s new Workplace Know Your Rights Act, which Governor Newsom signed into law last year in response to current federal immigration activity. While employees may decline to designate emergency contacts, employers must give them a chance to do so before the impending deadline or during onboarding for employees hired after that date. We’ll explain what employers must do to comply, as well as some best practices, and offer four practical steps you can take now to avoid violations and penalties.

Overview of California’s Workplace Know Your Rights Act

The new law, which took effect January 1, requires employers to:

• provide employees an annual written notice regarding certain workplace rights, including certain protections against unfair immigration-related practices (the first deadline to provide this notice was February 1, 2026, and after that date new employees must first receive it at the time of hire – learn more here); and
• notify an employee’s designated emergency contact if the employee is arrested or detained at their worksite or even offsite, if certain conditions are met (more on this below).

This Insight will focus on the second bullet point above, including when and how employers must allow employees to choose whether to name an emergency contact who should be...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMigwFBVV95cUxPdW4tZzY2dEZuZ0wwcE8tZWV5...