The notice requirements under California Labor Code 2810.5 apply to nearly every private-sector new hire in the state: employers must hand each non-exempt employee a written notice, at the time of hiring, that spells out pay rate and basis, the regular payday, the employer’s legal identity and contact information, the workers’ compensation carrier, paid sick leave rights, and any recent emergency or disaster declaration affecting the work location. Get the contents right on day one, update the notice within seven days when anything on it changes, and keep the signed copy. Skip any of that, and enforcement runs through PAGA at $100 per employee per pay period as a starting point.
What Must Appear on the Notice
The statute lists specific items every notice has to cover:
- The employee’s rate of pay and how it is calculated — hourly, salary, shift, piece, commission, or another basis — and the overtime rate if one applies.
- Any allowances the employer claims against the minimum wage, such as meal or lodging credits.
- The designated regular payday.
- The employer’s legal name, any DBAs, the physical address of the main office or principal place of business, a separate mailing address if different, and a telephone number.
- The name, address, telephone number, and policy number of the workers’ compensation carrier.
- A statement of the employee’s paid sick leave rights, including accrual, use, freedom from retaliation, and the right to file a complaint.
- A reference to any federal or state emergency or disaster declaration covering the county of work that was issued within 30 days before the employee’s first day.
- Anything else the Labor Commissioner adds by regulation.
Staffing agencies carry an extra item: the notice must also identify the client business where the employee will actually work, including that client’s name, physical and mailing addresses, and phone number.1California Legislative Information. California Code LAB – 2810.5
Paid Sick Leave Language Must Match Current Law
The sick leave portion of the notice is where outdated forms cause trouble. California raised the paid sick leave minimum effective January 1, 2024 under SB 616. Employers now have to provide at least 40 hours or five days per year, up from 24 hours or three days.2California Legislative Information. California Code LAB – 246 Any notice still quoting the old three-day floor needs to be replaced.
Numbers alone don’t satisfy the statute. The notice has to tell the employee that they can accrue and use sick leave, that they cannot be fired or disciplined for using it or requesting it, and that they can file a complaint if the employer retaliates.1California Legislative Information. California Code LAB – 2810.5 Notices that list only accrual rates and skip the anti-retaliation language are incomplete.
Who Does Not Need a Notice
Three categories of workers are exempt:
- Employees of the state or a political subdivision, including cities, counties, and special districts.
- Employees exempt from overtime by statute or by an Industrial Welfare Commission wage order.
- Employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement, but only if the agreement expressly addresses wages, hours, and working conditions, provides premium overtime rates, and sets a regular hourly base rate at least 30 percent above the state minimum wage.
The union exemption is narrower than employers often assume. The mere existence of a CBA is not enough; all three conditions must be met, and the 30-percent premium on the base rate is the piece most likely to fail.1California Legislative Information. California Code LAB – 2810.5
Language and Delivery
The notice must be written in the language the employer normally uses to communicate employment-related information to that employee.1California Legislative Information. California Code LAB – 2810.5 If onboarding happens in Spanish, the notice goes out in Spanish. The Department of Industrial Relations publishes the template in multiple languages.3Department of Industrial Relations. DLSE Forms
The statute calls for “written notice” and does not lock the format to paper. Electronic delivery is fine as long as the employee can retain a copy, and you should keep a retrievable record showing they received it.
The Seven-Day Update Rule
The hire notice is not a one-time task. When any information on it changes, the employer must issue an updated notice within seven calendar days. Two exceptions apply: no separate update is needed if the change already appears on a timely wage statement under Labor Code 226, or if it is communicated in another writing that state law already requires within seven days.4California Department of Industrial Relations. California Labor Code 2810.5 Notice to Employee
Common triggers include a pay raise, a switch in workers’ comp carriers, a new DBA, or moving an employee from hourly to salaried. Employers who track these events by hand tend to miss the seven-day window. Building the trigger into payroll or HRIS is the reliable fix.
Penalties for Getting It Wrong
Section 2810.5 does not set its own dollar penalty. Enforcement runs primarily through PAGA, which lets employees sue for Labor Code violations that lack a dedicated penalty. The default civil penalty is $100 per aggrieved employee per pay period.5California Legislative Information. California Code LAB – 2699
That figure moves in either direction:
- The penalty drops to $50 per employee per pay period if the violation resulted from an isolated, nonrecurring event lasting no more than 30 consecutive days or four consecutive pay periods.
- It rises to $200 per employee per pay period if a court or agency previously found the same policy or practice unlawful within the past five years, or if the court finds the employer acted maliciously or oppressively.
Multiplied across a workforce and several pay periods, the numbers climb quickly. A 50-employee company that leaves a notice defect uncorrected for six pay periods faces meaningful exposure at the $100 baseline.5California Legislative Information. California Code LAB – 2699
A missing or inaccurate notice also weakens the employer’s position in a broader wage claim. If the employee was never told the correct pay rate or payday and later challenges an underpayment, the absent notice cuts against the employer on back pay, liquidated damages, interest, and attorney’s fees.
Template and Recordkeeping
The Labor Commissioner is required to publish a template that satisfies Section 2810.5, and the current form is available as a PDF from the Department of Industrial Relations.4California Department of Industrial Relations. California Labor Code 2810.5 Notice to Employee Using it is not mandatory, but a completed official form is the cleanest evidence of compliance. A custom notice needs a line-by-line check against the statutory list before it goes into circulation.
The statute does not set a standalone retention period for the notice, but Labor Code 1174 requires payroll records to be kept for at least three years.6California Legislative Information. California Code LAB – 1174 Holding signed hire notices and every update for at least four years gives a comfortable margin against California’s three- and four-year wage-claim limitations periods. Store them so a specific employee’s file can be produced quickly.