New California legislation requires all employers with at least 5 employees to provide paid time off to employees who experience covered reproductive loss events. It went into effect on January 1, 2024, existing separately from other requirements associated with providing leave, including bereavement leave.
Applicable employers must grant an eligible employee’s request to take up to five days of leave following a covered reproductive loss. Examples of such reproductive losses include:
- Miscarriage
- Stillbirth
- Failed surrogacy
- Failed adoption
- Unsuccessful assisted reproduction procedure
In most cases, the employee must take the leave within three months of the event. However, employees who use different types of leave that are covered under federal or state law can still qualify for reproductive loss leave within three months of the end of the other covered leave period.
Employees are allowed to take more than one reproductive loss leave within a 12-month period. Employers are not required to grant more than 20 days of leave within that period. To qualify for reproductive loss leave, an employee must be employed for at least 30 days.
If the employer has no applicable leave policy in place, an employee may take unpaid leave and can use any accrued vacation time, sick leave, or personal leave time.
This article is informational and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Consult with an employment lawyer or accountant for additional clarification on how these changes impact your company.
