Immigration Status and Workplace Rights in California

December 31, 2024

Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. Is This Your Situation?
3. Immigrant Worker Rights: What Do Undocumented Workers in California Have?
   1. Wages
   2. Workers’ compensation
   3. Discrimination
   4. Safety
4. Can My Employer Threaten to Call Immigration?
5. Can Immigration Agents Enter My Workplace?
6. Will My Immigration Status Come Up If I Make a Claim?
7. What to Consider If Your Rights Are Violated
8. How Long Do I Have to Act?
9. When to Talk to a California Employment Lawyer
10. Frequently Asked Questions
    1. Can I be discriminated against because of my immigration status?
    2. Can I recover unpaid wages if I am undocumented?
    3. Can I get workers’ comp without legal status?
    4. My employer asked for new documents after I complained. Is that legal?

Immigrant worker rights in California do not depend on your papers. Undocumented workers in California have most of the same workplace rights as everyone else. You can be owed minimum wage and overtime, receive workers’ compensation after an injury, and be protected from retaliation, whatever your immigration status. Below, we explain what California law says, how it limits the use of immigration status against workers, and where the protections stop.

Do undocumented workers have workplace rights in California?

Yes. Under Labor Code section 1171.5, “All protections, rights, and remedies available under state law” except reinstatement remedies prohibited by federal law “are available to all individuals regardless of immigration status.” Employers also may not threaten to contact immigration authorities to retaliate against workers who assert their rights.

Key Takeaways

• California labor protections apply “regardless of immigration status” (Lab. Code 1171.5(a)).
• In cases enforcing those laws, inquiry into a person’s immigration status is generally not permitted (Lab. Code 1171.5(b)).
• Threatening to contact immigration authorities to retaliate against a worker is an unlawful “unfair immigration-related practice” (Lab. Code 1019).
• Workers’ compensation covers employees “whether lawfully or unlawfully employed” (Lab. Code 3351).
• California’s anti-discrimination law applies to workers “regardless of their citizenship or immigration status” (Civil Rights Department).

Is This Your Situation?

• Your employer pays you below minimum wage or skips overtime because “you don’t have papers.”
• A supervisor threatened to call immigration after you complained about pay or safety.
• You were hurt at work and told you cannot get workers’ comp.
• You were asked for extra documents after you raised a complaint.
• You are treated worse than coworkers because of your accent, language, or country of origin.

Immigrant Worker Rights: What Do Undocumented Workers in California Have?

The starting point is Labor Code section 1171.5(a): state-law protections, rights, and remedies “are available to all individuals regardless of immigration status.” The main exception is reinstatement remedies that federal law prohibits.

Right	Applies regardless of status?	Source
Minimum wage, overtime, and other state wage protections	Yes	Lab. Code 1171.5(a)
Workers’ compensation after a work injury	Yes, “whether lawfully or unlawfully employed”	Lab. Code 3351
Protection from discrimination and harassment under FEHA	Yes	CRD
Protection from immigration-related retaliation	Yes	Lab. Code 1019
Reinstatement to the job	Not where federal law prohibits it	Lab. Code 1171.5(a)

Wages

For undocumented workers in California, wage rights are the same. The 2026 California minimum wage is $16.90 an hour (Department of Industrial Relations). Being paid in cash, being told to work off the clock, or being called an “independent contractor” does not erase these rights. See our article on misclassification as an independent contractor. In Los Angeles, see our Los Angeles wage theft lawyer page.

Workers’ compensation

California defines an employee for workers’ comp as every person in the service of an employer under a contract of hire, “whether lawfully or unlawfully employed” (Labor Code section 3351). Learn more about workers’ comp benefits. Injuries are common in construction and other physical jobs.

Discrimination

The Civil Rights Department lists “Ancestry, national origin” among protected characteristics and states that FEHA “applies to California workers regardless of their citizenship or immigration status” (CRD). Read more about legal protections against discrimination at work.

Safety

Every worker can raise safety concerns. Our article on whether you can be fired for a safety complaint explains the protections that apply.

Can My Employer Threaten to Call Immigration?

Not to retaliate against you. Labor Code section 1019 makes it unlawful for an employer “or any other person or entity” to engage in “unfair immigration-related practices” to retaliate against someone for exercising a protected right, such as filing a good-faith complaint. The law lists these practices:

• “Threatening to contact or contacting immigration authorities”
• “Threatening to file or the filing of a false police report”
• Requesting more or different documents than federal law requires, or refusing documents that appear genuine
• Using E-Verify at a time or in a manner the law does not require or allow

A worker can bring a civil action for damages or penalties, and a court may suspend the employer’s business licenses for up to 14, 30, or 90 days depending on the number of violations. The prevailing party may recover attorney’s fees and costs. See our retaliation practice.

Can Immigration Agents Enter My Workplace?

California limits what an employer can allow. Except as federal law requires, an employer “shall not provide voluntary consent to an immigration enforcement agent to enter any nonpublic areas of a place of labor.” The rule does not apply if the agent provides a judicial warrant (Government Code section 7285.1). An employer that violates it faces a civil penalty of $2,000 to $5,000 for a first violation and $5,000 to $10,000 for each later one.

Will My Immigration Status Come Up If I Make a Claim?

Usually not in state labor cases, but there is no absolute guarantee. In proceedings or discovery to enforce state labor and employment laws, “no inquiry shall be permitted into a person’s immigration status” unless the person seeking it shows “by clear and convincing evidence” that the inquiry is necessary to comply with federal immigration law (Lab. Code 1171.5(b)). The Civil Rights Department also states that it “does not inquire about citizenship or immigration status” (CRD). Because every situation is different, consider speaking with an employment attorney about how your status may affect your case.

What to Consider If Your Rights Are Violated

1. Consider writing down dates, hours worked, pay received, and what was said, including any threats about immigration.
2. Keep your pay stubs, schedules, text messages, and photos of your time records if you are allowed to take them. Do not take confidential company files.
3. Save the names of coworkers who saw what happened.
4. Consider speaking with an employment attorney before you respond to a demand for new documents after a complaint.

How Long Do I Have to Act?

Deadlines depend on the type of claim. For example, the Labor Commissioner lists three years for unpaid minimum wage and overtime (Labor Commissioner), and many FEHA discrimination complaints generally must be filed within three years (CRD). Workers’ comp and retaliation claims have their own rules. An employment attorney can evaluate which deadlines apply to your situation.

When to Talk to a California Employment Lawyer

If you are among the undocumented workers in California who are not being paid correctly, were hurt on the job, or were threatened with immigration consequences after speaking up, consider speaking with a California employment lawyer. An attorney can explain your options and the deadlines that apply. We help clients in English and Spanish.

At Abramson Labor Group, we represent California employees regardless of immigration status. Our case reviews are free and confidential, and we work on contingency. Request your free case evaluation or call us at (213) 493-6300.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I be discriminated against because of my immigration status?

California’s anti-discrimination law protects “Ancestry, national origin,” and the Civil Rights Department states that FEHA “applies to California workers regardless of their citizenship or immigration status” (CRD). Separately, using immigration threats or document demands to retaliate is unlawful under Labor Code section 1019. These immigrant worker rights apply even if you are undocumented.

Can I recover unpaid wages if I am undocumented?

Yes. State-law protections and remedies are available “regardless of immigration status,” except reinstatement that federal law prohibits (Lab. Code 1171.5).

Can I get workers’ comp without legal status?

Yes. The workers’ comp definition of employee covers people “whether lawfully or unlawfully employed” (Lab. Code 3351).

My employer asked for new documents after I complained. Is that legal?

It may not be. Requesting more or different documents than federal law requires can be an “unfair immigration-related practice” when done to retaliate (Lab. Code 1019). An employment attorney can evaluate the timing and the request.

This article is general information about California law, not legal advice. Every situation is different. For advice about your specific case, talk to a licensed California employment attorney.