Bereavement Leave (Grievance Pay) in California

Once Governor Newsom signs AB 1949, the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) will entitle employees to five days of unpaid bereavement leave. Prior to this bill, California employers were not required to provide bereavement leave to employees.

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. AB 1949 permits taking bereavement leave for a deceased:

• Spouse or domestic partner,
• Children,
• Parents,
• Siblings,
• Grandparents,
• Grandchildren, and
• Parents-in-law.

Under the bill, 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?

1. What is bereavement leave?

Bereavement leave is an amount of time granted to an employee after the loss of a loved one. The loved one who passes usually must be a near and immediate family member.

2. Is bereavement leave required by law in California?

Yes, assuming AB 1949 is signed by Governor Newsom. The bill requires employers with at least five or more employees to provide up to five days of bereavement leave.

Employees must take the bereavement leave within three months of the death. And employees have the choice to take off the days

• altogether or
• separately over the three months.

AB-95 does not require employers to provide paid bereavement leave. But employees can use their paid vacation or sick days for bereavement purposes.

Note that employers are not required to provide bereavement leave to employees who worked for them for fewer than 30 days. Employers must maintain confidentiality, though they can request proof of the death (such as an obituary or death certificate). And employers may not retaliate or discriminate against employees who take bereavement leave.¹

AB 1949 does not permit bereavement leave for cousins, aunts, or uncles.

3. What do employer bereavement leave policies look like?

Assuming AB 1949 gets signed, companies must 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 employees use sick or vacation days they 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;
• 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.

5. Who is considered a family member for bereavement pay?

For purposes of bereavement leave under AB 1949, family members are limited to the employee’s 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?

Once AB 1949 is signed, 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.

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.

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