By March 30, 2026, California employers are required to notify existing employees of the opportunity to identify an emergency contact and to allow employees to designate whether the contact should receive notification if the employee is arrested or detained at the jobsite, during work hours, or offsite while performing their job duties, and the employer has “actual knowledge of the arrest or detention of the employee.” Cal. Lab. Code § 1555(b).

Effective March 30, California employers must allow their employees to update their emergency contact information throughout their employment. Id. If an employee identifies an emergency contact, employers must notify their contact if the employee is arrested or detained under any of the aforementioned circumstances. Id. § 1555(a). California employers must provide employees hired after March 30 the opportunity to provide an emergency contact at the time of hire.

The state has attached potential penalties for an employer’s failure to comply with Section 1555 of the California Labor Code. Specifically, the Labor Code authorizes a $500 penalty “per employee for each day the violation occurs, up to a maximum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per employee.” Id. § 1558(d)(2). Thus, an employer’s failure to notify employees of the opportunity to provide emergency contact information by March 30 and/or an employer’s failure to notify the emergency contact, may lead to penalties recoverable by employees, the California Labor Commissioner’s Office, or a public prosecutor. Id. § 1558(d)(3).

With this deadline approaching, employers should consider notifying all California employees in writing of their right to identify an emergency contact and confirming whether the employee wishes to have that emergency contact notified if the employee is arrested or detained at the jobsite, during work hours, or offsite while performing their job duties, and the employer has actual knowledge of the arrest or detention of the employee.