Leave - California

Jury Duty

An employer may not discriminate against an employee for taking time off to serve as a juror at an inquest or trial or when the employee is a victim of a crime and is required to appear as a witness. An employer may not discriminate against an employee for taking time off to obtain relief as a result of domestic violence. The employee must give reasonable notice to the employer. It is not a requirement to compensate employees for time off to serve or juries or to appear as a witness.

Domestic violence/crime leave

All California employers must allow leave to employees:

• Who are victims of domestic violence,
• Who are victims of sexual assault,
• Who are victims of stalking,
• Who are victims of a crime or offense that caused physical injury or that caused mental injury and a threat of physical injury, or
• Whose immediate family member died as a direct result of a crime.

The term “crime” includes misdemeanors or felony, and it does not matter whether anyone is arrested, prosecuted, or convicted in relation to the crime

Employees may take this leave to attend to any of the following:

• To seek medical attention for injuries caused by domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking;
• To obtain services from a domestic violence shelter, program, or rape crisis center as a result of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking;
• To obtain psychological counseling related to an experience of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking; or
• To participate in safety planning and take other actions to increase safety from future domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking including temporary or permanent relocation.

Employers are to provide a notice to employees of their domestic violence leave rights. The notice is to be provided upon hire and to other employees upon request. The Labor Commissioner is expected to develop a model notice and make it available to employers. You are not required to use the model notice, but whatever you do use needs to be substantially similar to the model notice.

Employees must provide reasonable advance notice of the intention to take time off, unless the advance notice is not feasible. When an unscheduled absence occurs, employers may not take any action against employees if, within a reasonable time after the absence, employees provide a certification.

Certification must be sufficient in the form of any of the following:

• A police report indicating that the employee was a victim;
• A court order protecting or separating the employee from the perpetrator;
• Documentation from a licensed medical professional, domestic violence counselor, a sexual assault counselor, victim advocate, licensed health care provider, or counselor that the employee was undergoing treatment or receiving services for physical or mental injuries or abuse resulting in victimization from the crime or abuse; or
• Any other form of documentation that reasonably verifies that the crime or abuse occurred, including but not limited to, a written statement signed by the employee, or an individual acting on the employee’s behalf, certifying that the absence is for a qualifying reason.

Employers may request recertification of an employee’s status as a victim six months after the date of the previous certification.

Employees may use available vacation, personal leave, or compensatory time off for leave under this law.

All employers are to provide reasonable accommodations for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking when such a request is for the safety of the victim while at work. Reasonable accommodations may include implementing the following safety measures or procedures:

• Transfer;
• Reassignment;
• Modified schedule;
• Changed work telephone;
• Changed workstation;
• Installed lock;
• Assistance in documenting domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking that occurs in the workplace; or
• Adjusted job structure, workplace facility, or work requirement.

Employers may not discharge, discriminate, or retaliate against employees who are victims of crime or abuse for taking leave.

Employees are to let employers know of the need for an accommodation because of the employee’s status as a victim. Employees are also to provide, upon request, a written statement certifying that the accommodation is for a purpose under this law. The employer may also request certification from an employee requesting an accommodation demonstrating the employee’s status as a victim.

Employers are to engage in an interactive process with the employee to identify effective reasonable accommodations. Employers are not required to provide an accommodation that poses an undue hardship.

Employees are to notify the employer if they no longer need an accommodation.

In addition to the above requirements, employers with 25 or more employees must provide leave for employees for the following reasons:

• To seek medical attention for injuries caused by crime or abuse.
• To obtain services from a domestic violence shelter, program, rape crisis center, or victim services organization or agency as a result of the crime or abuse.
• To obtain psychological counseling or mental health services related to an experience of crime or abuse.
• To participate in safety planning and take other actions to increase safety from future crime or abuse, including temporary or permanent relocation.

Voting

For statewide elections, California Election Code Section 14000 allows an employee sufficient time to vote. The time off for voting must be at the beginning or end of the regular working shift, whichever allows the most free time for voting and the least time off from the regular working shift. Deductions of pay are allowed for periods of more than two hours. Employee must give two working days notice that time off for voting is needed.

This law does not force employers to allow time off to workers whose work schedule allows them sufficient time to vote.

See http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/

Volunteer firefighters, reserve peace officers, and emergency rescue personnel

Employers with at least 50 employees must allow employees who perform duties as volunteer firefighters, reserve peace officers, or emergency rescue personnel to take up to 14 days of leave per calendar year. This includes disaster medical response entities sponsored or requested by the state. Employees who are health care providers must notify their employer at the time they become designated as emergency rescue personnel and when they are notified that they will be deployed as a result of that designation. The leave may be used to engage in firefighting, law enforcement, or emergency rescue training.

Leave for Civil Air Patrol volunteers

Members of the California Wing of the all-volunteer Civil Air Patrol are entitled to up to ten days per year of unpaid leave when they are called up for an emergency by the U.S. Air Force, the California Emergency Management Agency, or any subdivision of the state with the authority to declare an emergency. Such emergencies are those that involve the saving or protection of life and property.

Covered employers are those with 15 or more employees. Leave under this law must be provided above and beyond leave provided under other laws — Civil Air Patrol leave cannot run concurrent with other leave.

Eligible employees are those who have worked for the employer for at least a 90-day period immediately preceding leave.

Employees are to provide as much notice as possible of the leave, and include the intended dates upon which the leave would begin and end.

Employers may require certification from the proper Civil Air Patrol authority to verify the eligibility of the employee for the leave requested or taken. Leave may be denied if the employee fails to provide the required certification.

Employers cannot require employees to exhaust all accrued paid leave.

Employers and employees may negotiate for the employer to maintain the employee benefits at the expense of the employer during the leave period.

At the end of leave, employees are to be restored to the position they held when leave began or to a position with equivalent seniority status, employee benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment, unless the employee is not restored because of conditions unrelated to the exercise of the leave rights by the employee.

Military leave

Under federal law, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) provides reemployment rights for veterans, and members of the National Guard and National Reserve, following qualifying military service.

Under California law, any employee who is a member of the reserve corps of the armed forces of the United States, the National Guard, or the National Militia is entitled to a temporary leave while engaged in military duty ordered for purposes of military training, drills, encampment, naval cruises, special duty, or like activity. (Military and Veterans Code §§394, 394.5)

Time off for school/day care

Employers with 25 or more employees working at the same location must not discriminate against employees who are parents, guardians, stepparents, foster parents, grandparents, or someone who stands in loco parentis of one or more children of the age to attend kindergarten, grades 1 through 12, or a licensed child care provider. These employees may take up to 40 hours of leave each year for the following:

• Find, enroll, or reenroll a child in a school or with a licensed child care provider, or to participate in activities of the school or provider. This may be limited to eight hours in any calendar month.
• Address a child care provider or school emergency.

Employees, prior to taking the time off, must give reasonable notice to the employer of the absence.

Family military leave

Employers with 25 or more employees must allow a qualified employee to take up to ten days of unpaid leave during a qualified leave period. Employers must not retaliate against a qualified employee for requesting or taking such leave.

“Qualified employee” means a person who satisfies all of the following:

• Is the spouse of a qualified member;
• Performs service for an employer for an average of 20 or more hours per week, but does not include an independent contractor;
• Provides the qualified employer with notice, within two business days of receiving official notice that the qualified member will be on leave from deployment, of his or her intention to take leave; and
• Submits written documentation to the employer certifying that the qualified member will be on leave from deployment during the time of the leave requested.

“Qualified member” means a person who is any of the following:

• A member of the Armed Forces of the United States who has been deployed during a period of military conflict to an area designated as a combat theater or combat zone by the President of the United States;
• A member of the National Guard who has been deployed during a period of military conflict; or
• A member of the Reserves who has been deployed during a period of military conflict.

“Qualified leave period” means the period during which the qualified member is on leave from deployment during a period of military conflict. This reason for leave does not run concurrent with other forms of leave.

Time off for donating organs or bone marrow

The Michelle Maykin Memorial Donation Protection Act requires employers with 15 or more employees to allow eligible employees to take paid time off to donate an organ or bone marrow.

To be eligible, employees must have worked at least 90 days for the employer.

For organ donation, employees may take up to 30 days paid leave in a one-year period. Employees may take an additional 30 days unpaid leave in any one-year period.

For bone marrow donation, employees are entitled to paid leave of up to five business days in any one-year period.

The one-year period is measured from the date the leave begins and consists of 12 consecutive months. Leave may be taken in one or more periods; it need not be taken all at once.

Employees must provide written verification that they are a donor and that there is a medical necessity for the donation. Such absence is not considered a break in service for the purpose of the right to salary adjustments, sick leave, vacation, annual leave, or seniority. Group health care coverage is to be continued during such leave.

Employers may require employees to take up to five days of earned but unused sick or vacation leave or paid time off for bone marrow donation and up to two weeks of earned but unused sick or vacation leave or paid time off for organ donation. Leave taken cannot be treated as a break in service in regard to salary adjustments, sick leave, annual leave, seniority, or paid time off.

Group health coverage must be maintained during this type of leave.

Leave for donations must not be counted concurrently with the CFRA or FMLA.

Employers must restore employees to the position held when the leave began or to a position with equivalent seniority, benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment. Employees may bring a civil action to enforce these provisions.

Court appearances

Employers may not discharge, discriminate against, or retaliate against an employee who is a victim of specified offenses for taking time off from work to appear in court to be heard at any proceeding including postarrest release decisions, plea, sentencing, postconviction release decision, or in which any right of the victim is at issue.

The protections apply to individuals who have suffered direct or threatened physical, psychological, or financial harm as a result of a commission or attempted commission of a crime or delinquent act. A victim also includes a person’s spouse, parent, child, sibling, or guardian.

The list of crimes includes murder and solicitation of murder; kidnapping; carjacking; rape, stalking, and domestic violence; sex offenses; DUI vehicular manslaughter and other vehicular deaths; child abuse that caused significant harm or death; assault resulting in the death of a child under 8 years old; and the abuse of an elder or dependent adult.

Employees are to provide reasonable advance notice of the intention to take time off, when feasible.

When an unscheduled absence occurs, the employer is prohibited from taking an action against the employee if the employee, within a reasonable time after the absence, provides a certification. Certification may be in the form of the following:

• Police report;
• Court order;
• Documentation from a medical professional, domestic violence advocate or advocate for victims of sexual assault, health care provider, or counselor that the employee was undergoing treatment for physical or mental injuries or abuse.

Employees may use available vacation, personal leave, or comp time for time taken off under this law.