California Bereavement Leave Law Explained
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What California's Bereavement Leave Law Actually Requires
Since January 1, 2023, Government Code § 12945.7, enacted by Assembly Bill 1949, requires every private employer with five or more employees and every public employer to allow eligible employees up to five days of bereavement leave when a qualifying family member dies. Employees must have worked at least 30 days before the leave begins. The five days do not have to be consecutive, but must be completed within three months of the death. The law does not require those days to be paid, but an employee may substitute accrued sick leave, vacation, or PTO. Denying the leave or retaliating against an employee for taking it is an unlawful employment practice under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) framework.
Before AB 1949 took effect, California had no statewide mandate requiring employers to provide any bereavement leave at all. The decision was entirely at the employer’s discretion. Section 12945.7 created this right from scratch.
Which Employers Must Follow the Bereavement Leave Law
The law covers two categories of employers:
- Private employers with five or more employees. If your employer has at least five people on payroll, the law applies.
- All public employers. State agencies, county offices, cities, school districts, and other governmental entities are covered regardless of size.
One exception applies to unionized workplaces. Under Government Code § 12945.7(k), employees covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement (CBA) are exempt if the CBA expressly provides for bereavement leave and satisfies the conditions set out in that subdivision. If you are a union member, check whether your CBA includes a bereavement leave provision before assuming the statutory right applies to you.
Who Qualifies for Bereavement Leave in California
The Covered Family Members, and Who Is Not on the List
Government Code § 12945.7 defines “family member” as:
- Spouse
- Child
- Parent
- Sibling
- Grandparent
- Grandchild
- Domestic partner
- Parent-in-law
This list is exhaustive. Unlike the California Family Rights Act (CFRA, Government Code § 12945.2), which allows leave for a “designated person” of the employee’s choosing, § 12945.7 contains no designated-person category. If the person who died is not on this specific list, a close friend, an aunt, an uncle, a cousin, a step-sibling, the statutory bereavement leave right does not apply, even if your employer has a more generous policy. Check your employee handbook; your employer can always offer broader coverage than the law requires.
The 30-Day Employment Requirement
Under Government Code § 12945.7(a), an employee must have been employed for at least 30 days before the leave begins. Employees in their first month of work are not covered. If you started a new job and experienced a loss before reaching the 30-day mark, the statutory right has not yet vested, though your employer may still choose to grant leave voluntarily.
How the Five Days of Leave Work, Timing, Scheduling, and Pay
Does California Law Require Paid Bereavement Leave?
No. Government Code § 12945.7 does not require paid bereavement leave. The pay outcome depends on what your employer’s existing policy provides:
Employer’s Existing Policy | What You Receive Under the Law | Can You Substitute Accrued Leave?
|
|---|---|---|
No bereavement policy at all | Up to 5 unpaid days | Yes, you may substitute available vacation, sick, PTO, or comp time |
Policy provides fewer than 5 paid days (e.g., 3 paid days) | 3 paid days + enough unpaid days to reach 5 total | Yes, you may use accrued leave for the unpaid portion |
Policy provides fewer than 5 unpaid days (e.g., 2 unpaid days) | 5 unpaid days total (law expands your entitlement) | Yes, you may substitute accrued leave for all 5 days |
The practical takeaway: if you have accrued sick leave or PTO, you can use it to get paid during bereavement leave even when the law does not require your employer to pay you directly.
Can the Five Days Be Taken All at Once or Spread Out?
The five days may be taken intermittently. You do not need to take them in a single stretch. The only hard rule is that all five days must be completed within three months of the date of death. If you need one day for the funeral, two days a week later to settle affairs, and two more days during the month following, that is permitted.
The right is also per-occurrence. If you lose a parent in March and a sibling in September, you are entitled to up to five days for each death, provided each leave is completed within three months of the respective death. For employees experiencing a year of multiple losses, this per-occurrence structure matters significantly. For more detail on how this law interacts with other protected California leave rights, see our guide on the new California bereavement leave law and employee rights.
What Your Employer Can, and Cannot, Ask You to Provide
Acceptable Documentation Under California’s Bereavement Leave Law
An employer may request documentation to verify the death. If your employer makes such a request, you have 30 days from the first day of your leave (not from the date of the request) to provide it. Acceptable documentation includes any of the following:
- A death certificate
- A published obituary
- Written verification of death, burial, or memorial services from a mortuary, funeral home, burial society, crematorium, religious institution, or governmental agency
Your employer cannot demand documentation before granting the leave. The 30-day production window begins when your leave starts, and any of the listed sources satisfies the requirement.
Your Employer Must Keep Your Bereavement Leave Information Confidential
Under Government Code § 12945.7, any documentation you provide may only be disclosed to internal personnel, your employer’s legal counsel, or as required by law. Sharing your bereavement documentation with people outside those categories is itself a violation of the statute. If your employer disclosed your situation to coworkers, clients, or anyone else without a legal basis, that disclosure may be independently actionable.
Your Rights If Your Employer Denies, Interferes With, or Retaliates for Bereavement Leave
What Counts as Illegal Retaliation Under § 12945.7
Government Code § 12945.7(g) makes the following actions unlawful employment practices when taken because of an employee’s exercise of bereavement leave rights:
- Refusing to hire
- Discharging or terminating
- Demoting
- Fining
- Suspending
- Expelling
- Any other form of discrimination
The protection also extends to employees who give information or testimony about another person’s bereavement leave in an inquiry or proceeding related to § 12945.7 rights. Consider a realistic scenario: an employee returns from five days of bereavement leave after losing a parent and, within two weeks, receives a written warning for “poor performance” that was never mentioned before the leave. A demotion follows shortly after. The timing and the absence of any prior discipline would be relevant facts in evaluating whether the employer’s stated reason is pretextual.
If you believe you have experienced this kind of retaliation, our family and medical leave attorneys can help you evaluate your options.
The Difference Between Denial and Interference
Section 12945.7(h) separately prohibits interfering with, restraining, or denying the exercise of any right under the statute, including the attempt to exercise it. This is a distinct violation from outright denial. Interference can take more subtle forms:
- Telling an employee they “probably won’t need all five days”
- Pressuring an employee to return to work before the five days are completed
- Refusing to approve a non-consecutive day when the employee requests it within the three-month window
- Conditioning approval of leave on tasks being completed first
Even if the leave is technically granted on paper, conduct that discourages or burdens the exercise of the right may still constitute interference under § 12945.7(h).
How Bereavement Leave Relates to CFRA, They Are Separate Rights
Government Code § 12945.7 expressly states that bereavement leave is separate and distinct from any right to family care and medical leave under Government Code § 12945.2 (CFRA). An employee does not lose bereavement leave days by having used CFRA leave, and vice versa.
A practical scenario illustrates why this matters: a family member is hospitalized with a terminal illness. The employee takes CFRA leave to care for that family member during the illness. The family member then dies. The employee is entitled to up to five additional days of bereavement leave under § 12945.7 on top of whatever CFRA leave was used. These are two independent entitlements triggered by different events. If you are navigating both, see our resources on FMLA rights in California for guidance on federal leave protections that may also apply.
Common Mistakes Employees Make When Taking California Bereavement Leave
Bereavement Leave Mistakes That Can Hurt Your Claim
- Assuming new employees are covered. If you have not yet worked 30 days, the statutory right has not vested. Do not treat it as available until you have crossed that threshold.
- Waiting too long to take the days. All five days must be completed within three months of the date of death. Waiting until the four-month mark forfeits the statutory entitlement for any unused days.
- Not substituting accrued leave to receive pay. The law does not require paid leave, but you have the right to apply your own accrued PTO, sick leave, or vacation. Many employees do not know to make this request explicitly.
- Assuming a friend or extended family member qualifies. The list in § 12945.7 is exhaustive. A close friend, aunt, uncle, step-sibling, or cousin does not trigger the statutory right, even if the relationship was significant. Check your employer’s policy for broader coverage.
- Missing the 30-day documentation window. If your employer requests documentation, you have 30 days from the first day of your leave to produce it. Failing to respond within that window can undermine your position even if the death was real and documented.
- Failing to document employer pressure to return early. Interference under § 12945.7(h) often goes unrecorded. If your manager discourages you from taking all five days, send a written follow-up memorializing what was said and when.
- Not recognizing retaliation disguised as performance management. Discipline, demotion, or schedule changes that follow bereavement leave with no prior pattern may be retaliatory. Preserve emails, performance reviews, and any communications from before and after the leave.
- Assuming a union CBA provides less protection than the statute. Under § 12945.7(k), a qualifying CBA can exempt you from the statute, but only if it expressly provides for bereavement leave on its own terms. Review your CBA’s language carefully before assuming you have fewer rights than the statute provides.
What This Means If Your Employer Denied or Punished Your Bereavement Leave
If your employer has five or more employees and refused to grant leave, cut it short, or disciplined you after you returned, you may have a viable claim under Government Code § 12945.7. Timing matters: the window to file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department is not indefinite, and evidence (emails, schedules, performance reviews) becomes harder to gather as time passes. If you are a union employee, verify whether your CBA provides its own bereavement leave terms and whether a grievance deadline applies.
Document everything now: write down what was said and by whom, preserve any written communications, and note any changes to your duties, pay, or status after the leave. Bereavement leave violations fall within the FEHA enforcement framework, and the same agency that handles discrimination claims also handles these. You do not have to absorb the loss alone while also defending your job.
Frequently Asked Questions About California’s Bereavement Leave Law
Does my employer have to pay me during bereavement leave?
No. Government Code § 12945.7 does not require paid leave. However, you may apply any accrued vacation, sick leave, PTO, or comp time to receive pay during the five days.
What if my employer has only four employees?
Private employers with fewer than five employees are not covered by § 12945.7. Check your employment contract or handbook; your employer may still have a voluntary policy.
Can my employer fire me for taking bereavement leave?
Terminating an employee because they exercised bereavement leave rights is an unlawful employment practice under § 12945.7(g). If the termination followed the leave with no legitimate, pre-existing basis, it warrants legal review.
Does the law cover the death of a close friend or more distant relative?
No. The statute covers only spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, domestic partner, and parent-in-law. Unlike CFRA, there is no “designated person” option under § 12945.7.
What if I need more than five days?
The statutory floor is five days. Your employer may offer more. You may also explore whether CFRA leave (for a qualifying family member’s serious health condition prior to death) or other protected leave applies. Our article on California parental leave and our resource on paid family leave in California may be relevant if you are also managing a new family situation alongside bereavement.
Do I have to take the five days all at once?
No. The days may be taken intermittently and do not need to be consecutive, as long as all five are completed within three months of the date of death.
If your employer denied your bereavement leave, retaliated against you for taking it, or pressured you to return early, contact Setareh Law Group. Our California employment attorneys represent workers whose leave rights have been violated. Call us or use our online contact form to schedule a consultation.
Contact us today:
📞 Phone: 310-888-7771
✉️ Email: help@setarehlaw.com
🌐 Address: 420 N Camden Dr, Beverly Hills CA, 90210
Disclaimer: This article is general legal information about California bereavement leave law and is provided for educational purposes only. It is not legal advice and does not address every fact pattern or circumstance. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship with Setareh Law Group or any of its attorneys. Laws change, and individual circumstances vary. For advice about your specific situation, please consult a licensed California employment attorney.
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