Victims of Domestic or Sexual Violence Leave – California Labor Law § 230.1

Covered Employers: Employers with 25 or more employees
Employee Eligibility: All employees who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking
Entitlement: An employee who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking may take up to 12 weeks of leave to attend to any of the following:

• To seek medical attention for injuries caused by domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking

• To obtain services from a domestic violence shelter, program, or rape crisis center as a result of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking

• To obtain psychological counseling related to an experience of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking

• To participate in safety planning and take other actions to increase safety from future domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, including temporary or permanent relocation

Leave can be used intermittently or on a reduced schedule basis.

Employer Notice: Employers with 25 or more employees must provide written notice to employees. Employers must notify employees of their rights upon hire and upon any request for leave. The California Labor Commissioner publishes a notice. The notice provided by the employer must be substantially similar to that published by the Labor Commissioner.

Employee Notice: The employee shall give the employer reasonable advance notice of the employee's intention to take time off, unless the advance notice is not feasible. When an unscheduled absence occurs, the employer shall not take any action against the employee if the employee, within a reasonable time after the absence, provides a certification to the employer.

Certification Supporting Need for Leave: Yes. If an unscheduled absence occurs, employees must provide one of the following: a police report documenting the domestic violence or sexual assault; a protective order or other evidence from the court or a prosecutor showing the employee has appeared in court; or documentation from a medical professional, domestic violence counselor, sexual assault counselor, licensed health care provider, or counselor that the employee is undergoing treatment for physical or mental injuries or abuse resulting in victimization from an act of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

Paid? No. However, an employee may use up to 24 hours of accrued paid sick leave under California's paid sick leave law. Otherwise, an employee may use vacation, personal leave, or compensatory time off that is available under the applicable terms of employment, unless otherwise provided by a collective bargaining agreement, though an employee's entitlement to this leave may not be diminished by any collective bargaining agreement term or condition.

Benefits: Employee can substitute any available vacation, personal, or compensatory time off for unpaid time.

Reinstatement: Yes

Other Important Definitions/Requirements: Employer must keep documentation confidential.

Relationship with Other Leave: This statute does not create a right for an employee to take unpaid leave that exceeds the unpaid leave time allowed under, or is in addition to the unpaid leave time permitted by, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. Note that under Cal. Code. Section 230, all employers, regardless of size, must provide time off to an employee who is a victim of a crime, domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking to appear in court to comply with a subpoena or other court order as a witness, or obtain any relief, including a temporary restraining order or other injunctive relief, to ensure the health, safety, or welfare of the victim or his or her child.

Absence Specification