Beyond FMLA and CFRA: California Leave Laws Employers Often Overlook

Most California employers know the major leave laws: the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), paid sick leave, and pregnancy disability leave. But lesser-known leaves arise more often than employers expect. Here is a practical rundown.

Crime Victim and Violence-Related Leave

Crime-victim, jury duty, and witness leave now fall under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), following changes in 2025 and 2026. That raises the stakes: an employee can now bring retaliation and failure-to-accommodate claims with the Civil Rights Department (CRD), which may issue a right-to-sue notice.

For example, an employee may need a morning off to obtain a restraining order or attend a court hearing about a crime against them or a family member. All employers must allow this. Employers with 25 or more employees must also allow time off for treatment, counseling or victim services, safety planning, or relocation. Employers may cap this leave at 12 weeks, or 10 days when the employee is assisting a family member (five days for relocation). Employees may use paid sick leave, and “family member” includes a person the employee designates.

If a victim requests a safety accommodation at work, such as a new office location or changed security protocols, employers of any size must engage in the interactive process.

Because emergencies are unscheduled, an employee who does not show up may still be protected if they provide documentation within a reasonable time. Employers must keep this information confidential and provide written notice of these rights at hire, annually, on request, and when an employee discloses being a victim. The CRD offers a model notice.

Emergency-Condition Leave and Protections

Wildfires, floods, and evacuation orders are a fact of life. Employers cannot punish an employee who refuses to report to, or leaves, work because they reasonably believe an emergency makes it unsafe, whether the emergency affects the workplace, the employee’s home, or a child’s school. The protection excludes pandemics and does not apply to first responders, many health care workers, and certain other roles. Employees should give advance notice, or notice as soon as possible afterward. 

Under Section 1139 of the Labor Code, employees must also be allowed to use their phones during an emergency to seek help or check on loved ones, even where phone use is normally restricted.

Military Leave 

Beyond federal military leave under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, California adds its own protections in the Military and Veterans Code. Members of the Army Reserves, National Guard, and Naval Militia get up to 17 days of leave per year, and State Guard members get up to 15 days.

Military families are also protected. Employers with 25 or more employees must provide up to 10 days of unpaid leave to an employee whose spouse or registered domestic partner is a qualifying service member home on leave from deployment during a military conflict. The employee must average at least 20 hours per week, give notice within two business days of receiving official notice of the service member’s leave, and submit supporting documentation. Separately, employers with 100 or more employees worldwide and San Francisco employers must pay eligible employees on military duty supplemental compensation for up to 30 days per year, covering the gap between their military and regular pay.

Private employers must also reinstate National Guard members returning from state active duty to their former position, or one of similar seniority, status, and pay, and cannot fire them without cause for one year after they return.

Civic Duty Leave

On statewide election days, an employee who cannot vote outside working hours may take up to two hours of paid time off to vote. Cal. Elec. Code § 14000. Employees must give notice, and the time off should come at the start or end of the shift unless otherwise agreed. Employers must post a voting notice at least 10 days before each election, or may post one permanently and update the election dates each year.

Employees are also protected when they take time off for jury duty or to testify in court under a subpoena, and they may use accrued time, including paid sick leave, to stay paid.

Family-Centered Leave Obligations

Time off for parent-teacher conferences, school enrollment, or an unexpected daycare closure may be protected under Sections 230.7 and 230.8 of the Labor Code. Employers with 25 or more employees at a location must give parents and other qualified individuals up to 40 hours per year for these needs, capped at eight hours per month for non-emergencies. Employees must use accrued vacation, personal leave, or comp time for planned absences. Employers of any size must allow a parent to leave work when a school requests that the parent come in about a child’s suspension.

Section 12945.7 of the Government Code requires employers with five or more employees to give employees who have worked at least 30 days up to five days of bereavement leave, to be used within three months of a family member’s death. Employers may ask for documentation, such as an obituary or death certificate, within 30 days of the first day of leave.

The same employers must also provide leave after a reproductive loss, including a miscarriage, stillbirth, unsuccessful assisted reproduction, failed adoption, or failed surrogacy. Cal. Gov’t Code § 12945.6. Employees with 30 days of service may take up to five days per event and up to 20 days in a 12-month period, generally within three months of the loss. Employers may not require documentation.

Specialized Leaves

Under Sections 1508 through 1513 of the Labor Code, employers with 15 or more employees must provide paid leave for employees donating an organ (up to 30 business days per year, plus an additional 30 unpaid days) or bone marrow (up to five business days). Employers may first require the employee to use up to two weeks (organ) or five days (bone marrow) of accrued time off.

When an employee requests leave to enter an alcohol or drug rehabilitation program, Sections 1025 through 1028 of the Labor Code require private employers with 25 or more employees to reasonably accommodate the request absent undue hardship. The leave may be unpaid, though employees may use sick leave, and the information must remain confidential. Employers may still decline to hire or discharge an employee if current drug use prevents them from performing the job, or performing it safely.

Employees serving as volunteer firefighters, reserve peace officers, or emergency rescue personnel are entitled to job-protected time off for emergency duty, subject to an exception for public safety agencies. Employers with 50 or more employees must authorize up to 14 days per year for training.

What Employers Should Do Now 

The biggest risk is failing to recognize a triggering request. Employers should consider:

• Updating handbooks, with standalone policies for crime-victim and military leave.
• Training HR staff and managers to identify protected leave requests.
• Posting required notices, including the voting and CRD victims-of-violence notices.
• Revising accommodation processes.

Employers should consult counsel when a request does not fit neatly into an existing policy.

Reprinted with permission from the November 4, 2026 issue of The Recorder. © 2026 ALM Global Properties LLC, trading as Centellic. Further duplication without permission is prohibited. All rights reserved.