The California Family Rights Act (CFRA) entitles employees to five days of unpaid bereavement leave. Bereavement leave (sometimes called grievance pay) is time off of work given to eligible employees after the death of a family member or a loved one. Employees can take bereavement leave for a deceased:
- Spouse or domestic partner,
- Child,
- Parent,
- Sibling,
- Grandparent,
- Grandchild, and
- Parent-in-law.
Employers must permit employees to use any available vacation, sick time, or other paid-time-off for the purpose of bereavement leave.
For a general discussion, please see our article on workplace leave laws and rights in California.
Below, our California employment and labor lawyers will answer the following key questions about bereavement leave for California employees:
- 1. What is bereavement leave?
- 2. Is bereavement leave required by law in California?
- 3. What do employer bereavement leave policies look like?
- 4. Where do I find my employer’s bereavement leave policy?
- 5. Who is considered a family member for bereavement pay?
- 6. How many days off do companies usually allow for bereavement leave?
- 7. Can my employer require proof of the death?
1. What is bereavement leave?
Bereavement leave is an amount of time granted to an employee after the loss of an immediate family member.
2. Is bereavement leave required by law in California?
Yes. As of January 1, 2023, Assembly Bill 1949 requires employers with at least five or more employees to provide up to five days of bereavement leave.
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.
Employers do not have to provide paid bereavement leave. Though you can use your paid vacation or sick days for bereavement purposes.
Note that employers are not required to provide bereavement leave to you if you worked for them for fewer than 30 days.
Also note that AB 1949 does not apply to you if 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;
- 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.
Finally, note that employers may not retaliate or discriminate against you if you take bereavement leave. You can take legal action against your employer if they do violate AB 1949 (though you may not file a PAGA claim).1
AB 1949 does not permit bereavement leave for cousins, aunts, or uncles.
3. What do employer bereavement leave policies look like?
AB 1949 requires companies to provide at least five days of unpaid bereavement leave.
Most California employers offer some form of bereavement law policy as a part of the
- handbook or
- other policy collection.
Some companies set aside a certain number of workdays that are allowed for each time a loved one passes. Others require that you use sick or vacation days you have stored up first, and then permit extra days as needed to accommodate for the needed time off.
Employers can create a wide variety of different policies, and can differ in:
- How many days of paid bereavement leave or unpaid bereavement leave is available (as long as there are a minimum of five days);
- The types of relatives that may apply toward the policy;
- How time is taken or how leave requests are made;
- Whether vacation or sick time must be used in place of bereavement time.
4. Where do I find my employer’s bereavement leave policy?
If an employer has an official policy, it is likely in the employee handbook or other similar documents. These policies usually are 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 figuring out what the policy is if you do not already know.
In some cases, the policy may be much more unofficial, especially in small businesses. An employer could make case-by-case determinations as to time off in this case, so long as the decision is done for nondiscriminatory reasons.
Note that if your employer offers four or fewer days of paid bereavement leave, you can still take a total of five days off: But those additional days will be unpaid.
5. Who is considered a family member for bereavement pay?
For purposes of bereavement leave under AB 1949, family members are limited to your deceased:
- spouse,
- child,
- parent,
- sibling,
- grandparent,
- grandchild,
- domestic partner, or
- parent-in-law.2
6. How many days off do companies usually allow for bereavement leave?
Employers must allow at least five days of bereavement leave for the death of a family member who passed away. Some companies provide more time or allow bereavement leave for extended family, such as cousins.
7. Can my employer require proof of the death?
Yes, your employer can ask to see proof that your family member died. Examples include:
- death certificate
- obituary
- 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.
Contact us for help…
For questions about California’s bereavement leave laws, or to confidentially discuss your case with one of our skilled California employment attorneys, do not hesitate to contact us at the Shouse Law Group. Please also see our article on jury duty and subpoena leave rights in California and voting leave rights in the California workplace.
We have local law offices in and around Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, Sacramento, Ventura, San Jose, Oakland, the San Francisco Bay area, and several nearby cities. Disclaimer: Results cannot be guaranteed.
See our related article on California Paid Family Leave (PFL).
Legal References
- AB-1949 (2022). Note that the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) – a federal law – does not include bereavement leave. Oregon and Maryland have bereavement leave policies.
- See, for example, Campbell v. City of Monrovia, (Second Appellate District, Division Two, 1978) 84 Cal. App. 3d 341.
- See also Lares v. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Second Appellate District, Division Four, 2020) 56 Cal. App. 5th 318.