Under Government Code 12945.7, the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) requires private employers with at least five employees to provide you five days of unpaid bereavement leave after the death of your:
- Spouse or domestic partner,
- Child,
- Parent,
- Sibling,
- Grandparent,
- Grandchild, and/or
- Parent-in-law.
Your employer must also permit you to use your accrued paid time off (such as vacation and sick time) for the purpose of bereavement leave if you wish.
California’s bereavement leave law is relatively new. It was passed in 2022 as part of Assembly Bill (AB) 1949, was codified as Government Code 12945.7, and took effect on January 1, 2023.
Below, our Los Angeles employment law attorneys will address the following key issues regarding California bereavement leave laws:
- 1. Exceptions
- 2. Timing
- 3. Is it paid?
- 4. Employer Policies
- 5. Multiple Deaths
- 6. Proof of Death
- 7. Job Protection
- 8. Can I sue?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Additional Resources
1. Exceptions
You are not eligible for bereavement leave under California Government Code 12945.7 if any of the following three circumstances is true:
- You worked for your private employer for fewer than 30 days; or
- You are a state employee eligible for bereavement leave under Government Code 19859.3; or
- You are covered under a collective bargaining agreement that provides for:
- a bereavement leave policy that allows for at least five days of bereavement leave; and
- your working conditions, hours, and wages; and
- premium wages for overtime and a regular hourly wage of at least 1.3 times the minimum wage.1
2. Timing
Under California Government Code 12945.7, you must take bereavement leave within three months of the death. You have the choice to take off the days altogether or separately over the three months.2
Assembly Bill 1949 does not recognize bereavement leave for cousins, aunts, or uncles.
3. Is it paid?
California law does not require that your five days of bereavement leave be paid. However, you are free to use your paid vacation and sick days for bereavement purposes.3
4. Employer Policies
Employers can have their own bereavement leave policies as long as they meet the minimum requirements under California Government Code 12945.7: Five days of unpaid leave. If your employer offers four or fewer days of paid bereavement leave, you can still take a total of five days off; however, those additional days will be unpaid.4
If an employer has an existing bereavement policy, it is likely in the employee handbook or other similar documents. These bereavement policies are usually next to other types of leave of absence policies, such as:
- Sick Leave
- Voting Leave
- New Parent Leave
- Pregnancy Leave
- Family and Medical Leave
- Jury Duty or Subpoena Leave
If you are unsure where to look, ask your human resources representative at your place of employment. Your human resources representative is the best source for determining the policy if you do not already know it.
In some cases, the policy may be much more unofficial, especially in small businesses. An employer could make case-by-case determinations so long as the decision is not made for discriminatory reasons.
Note that if you take bereavement leave, it will not eat into any other leave time you are entitled to under:
- California Family Rights Act (CFRA),
- Family and Medical Leave (FMLA), and/or
- Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL).5
In most cases, private employers in California must provide at least five days of unpaid bereavement leave.
5. Multiple Deaths
In California, you can take five days of leave for each covered family member who dies. So if two family members die in one year, the number of days you can take off that year is ten.6
6. Proof of Death
In California, your employer can ask to see proof that your family member died. Examples include:
- Death certificate,
- Published obituary, or
- Written verification of death, burial, or memorial services from a mortuary, funeral home, burial society, crematorium, religious institution, or government agency.
If requested, you must provide this documentation within 30 days of your first day of bereavement leave. Your employer must keep this documentation confidential.7
Many employers have more generous bereavement leave policies than what California law requires, such as leave for extended family like cousins.
7. Job Protection
Your employer must return you to your same or a similar job when you return from bereavement leave. California employers may not retaliate or discriminate against you if you take bereavement leave.8
8. Can I sue?
If your employer will not let you take bereavement leave – or if they are discriminating or retaliating against you for taking bereavement leave – you can either:
- file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) for them to investigate and resolve your case, or
- obtain a right-to-sue letter from the CRD so you can file your own lawsuit.9
We can discuss which route would be best for your particular case.
You cannot be fired for taking bereavement leave that you are entitled to.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I need to work before I can take bereavement leave in California?
You must work for your employer for at least 30 days before you can take bereavement leave. Also, your employer must have at least five employees for the law to apply.
Do I get paid during my bereavement leave?
California law does not require employers to pay you during bereavement leave. However, you can choose to use your accrued paid time off, such as vacation days or sick leave, to get paid during this time.
What proof do I need to show my employer when someone dies?
If your employer asks, you must provide proof of death within 30 days of starting your bereavement leave. This can be a death certificate, published obituary, or written verification from a funeral home, religious institution, or government agency.
Can I be fired for taking bereavement leave?
No, your employer cannot fire you for taking bereavement leave that you’re legally entitled to. They must also give you back your same job or a similar one when you return, and they cannot retaliate against you for using this leave.
Additional Resources
If you recently lost someone, find information and help here:
- What Are the Symptoms of Bereavement? – Article by PsychCentral.
- Bereavement and Complicated Grief – Article in Current Psychiatry Reports.
- Bereavement: Grieving the Loss of a Loved One – Article by HelpGuide.org.
- Bereavement and Grief – Overview by Mental Health America.
- Bereavement articles – Compiled by Science Direct.
Legal References
- AB-1949 (2022), codified as Government Code section 12945.7.
(a) As used in this section:
(1) (A) “Employee” means a person employed by the employer for at least 30 days prior to the commencement of the leave.
(B) “Employee” does not include a person who is covered by Section 19859.3.
(2) “Employer” means either of the following:
(A) A person who employs five or more persons to perform services for a wage or salary.
(B) The state and any political or civil subdivision of the state, including, but not limited to, cities and counties.
(3) “Family member” means a spouse or a child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, domestic partner, or parent-in-law as defined in Section 12945.2.
(b) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to refuse to grant a request by any employee to take up to five days of bereavement leave upon the death of a family member.
(c) The days of bereavement leave need not be consecutive.
(d) The bereavement leave shall be completed within three months of the date of death of the family member.
(e) (1) The bereavement leave shall be taken pursuant to any existing bereavement leave policy of the employer.
(2) If there is no existing bereavement leave policy, the bereavement leave may be unpaid, except that an employee may use vacation, personal leave, accrued and available sick leave, or compensatory time off that is otherwise available to the employee.
(3) If an existing leave policy provides for less than five days of paid bereavement leave, the employee shall be entitled to no less than a total of five days of bereavement leave, consisting of the number of days of paid leave under the existing policy, and the remainder of days of leave may be unpaid, except that an employee may use vacation, personal leave, accrued and available sick leave, or compensatory time off that is otherwise available to the employee.
(4) If an existing leave policy provides for less than five days of unpaid bereavement leave, the employee shall be entitled to no less than five days of unpaid bereavement leave, except that an employee may use vacation, personal leave, accrued and available sick leave, or compensatory time off that is otherwise available to the employee.
(f) The employee, if requested by the employer, within 30 days of the first day of the leave, shall provide documentation of the death of the family member. As used in this subdivision, “documentation” includes, but is not limited to, a death certificate, a published obituary, or written verification of death, burial, or memorial services from a mortuary, funeral home, burial society, crematorium, religious institution, or governmental agency.
(g) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to refuse to hire, or to discharge, demote, fine, suspend, expel, or discriminate against, an individual because of either of the following:
(1) An individual’s exercise of the right to bereavement leave provided by subdivision (b).
(2) An individual’s giving information or testimony as to their own bereavement leave, or another person’s bereavement leave, in an inquiry or proceeding related to rights guaranteed under this section.
(h) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right provided under this section.
(i) The employer shall maintain the confidentiality of any employee requesting leave under this section. Any documentation provided to the employer pursuant to subdivision (f) or subdivision (g) shall be maintained as confidential and shall not be disclosed except to internal personnel or counsel, as necessary, or as required by law.
(j) An employee’s right to leave under this section shall be construed as separate and distinct from any right under Section 12945.2.
(k) The section does not apply to an employee who is covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement if the agreement expressly provides for bereavement leave equivalent to that required by this section and for the wages, hours of work, and working conditions of the employees, and if the agreement provides premium wage rates for all overtime hours worked, where applicable, and a regular hourly rate of pay for those employees of not less than 30 percent above the state minimum wage.
CA Code of Regulations 599.923. Note that the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) – a federal law – does not include bereavement leave. Oregon and Maryland do have bereavement leave laws. - California Government Code 12945.7.
- See note 2.
- Same.
- See note 1. See also Lares v. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Second Appellate District, Division Four, 2020) 56 Cal. App. 5th 318.
- See note 5. See, for example, Campbell v. City of Monrovia, (Second Appellate District, Division Two, 1978) 84 Cal. App. 3d 341.
- California Government Code 12945.7.
- Same.
- See Complaint Process, California Civil Rights Department (CRD).