California law requires employers to give California employees a yearly “Know Your Rights” notice.
California Senate Bill 294 (SB 294) requires you to:
Share this notice with employees on time
Track who received it
Keep records for at least 3 years
Give employees the option to name an emergency contact and choose whether that person is notified if they are arrested or detained
We help you track compliance, but you are responsible for sending the notice. Get more information about this law on the California Department of Industrial Relations website.
The “Know Your Rights” notice explains important workplace protections, including:
Workers’ compensation rights
Immigration-related protections
Constitutional rights
California labor laws
Important: We do not send the notice for you. We act as a system of record to help you track and prove compliance.
We provide a Workplace Rights page in Gusto where you can:
Download official SB 294 notices
Track which employees you’ve notified
Automatically store timestamps for 3-year record retention
Emergency contact and notification requirement
Employees can name an emergency contact in their Gusto profile and indicate whether the emergency contact should be notified if the employee is arrested or detained.
You must meet all of the following requirements:
California employees only
Employees (not contractors)
Active employees
Existing employees: By February 1 each year.
New hires: At the time of hire.
Keep proof of distribution for at least 3 years.
Failure to distribute the notice can result in fines of up to $500 per employee, per violation.
By March 30, 2026, an employer must provide employees the opportunity to name emergency contacts and to indicate whether the emergency contact should be notified if the employee is arrested or detained.
Employees can name an emergency contact in their Gusto profile and indicate whether the emergency contact should be notified if the employee is arrested or detained.
Language requirement: You must provide the notice in the language you normally use to discuss employment-related information with that employee. If the notice is not available in that language, English is acceptable.
Sign in to your Gusto admin account.
Go to Taxes & Compliance.
Select Workplace Rights (only available if you have California-based employees).
In the Notice Download section, choose:
Download English PDF, or
Download Spanish PDF
You can also download a free electronic copy of the notice from the California Department of Industrial Relations website.
You must send the notice using your normal communication method for employment-related information, such as:
Text message
Paper copy
Your method must allow the employee to receive the notice within one business day.
After you distribute the notice, record it in Gusto to create a compliance record.
Sign in to your Gusto admin account.
Go to Taxes & Compliance.
Select Workplace Rights (only available if you have California-based employees).
On the Workplace Rights page, find the Employee Tracking table. Look for employees marked as:
Pending (yellow clock), or
Overdue (red warning)
Mark employees as notified:
One at a time: Click Mark as notified next to the employee’s name.
In bulk: Select multiple employees and click Mark all as notified.
We automatically save timestamps so you can meet the 3-year recordkeeping requirement.
Q: Which employees appear in the tracking table?
A: We include employees who:
Have California listed as their work state
Are classified as employees (not contractors)
Have an Active employment status
Q: Does Gusto automatically send the notice?
A: No. You must send the notice yourself.
We help by:
Providing the official notice
Tracking who you notified
Storing records to support compliance
Q: What if an employee works in multiple states, including California?
A: We identify employees based on the work state listed in Gusto.
If an employee:
Splits time between California and another state, or
Has a work state that may not reflect where they actually perform work
You should review whether they should receive the notice. When in doubt, providing the notice can help ensure compliance.