California — Leave Laws

The California Family Rights Act (CFRA) requires employers with five or more employees to provide eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in any 12-month period for family care and medical reasons. An employee is eligible if they have worked for the employer for at least 12 months and worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12 months immediately before the leave commences. The employer must guarantee reinstatement to the same or a comparable position upon the employee's return.

Source: Cal. Gov't Code § 12945.2

California Labor Code § 246, as amended by SB 616 effective January 1, 2024, requires employers to provide employees with at least 40 hours or five days of paid sick leave per year, whichever is greater—an increase from the prior minimum of 24 hours or three days. For an employee who works 10-hour shifts, the "five days" measure yields 50 hours; for an employee who works 6-hour shifts and takes five sick days (30 hours), the "40 hours" measure controls, leaving 10 hours still available within the year.

Three permitted methods. An employer may satisfy the requirement using any of three accrual or frontloading methods:

1. Standard 1:30 accrual. One hour of paid sick leave accrues for every 30 hours worked, beginning at commencement of employment. Under this method, accrued leave carries over from year to year, but the employer may cap total accrual at 80 hours or 10 days (increased from the pre-2024 limit of 48 hours or 6 days). The employer may also cap an employee's use of accrued sick leave at 40 hours or 5 days per year (increased from 24 hours or 3 days), even if the employee has banked more.

1. Alternative accrual. The employer may use a different accrual method (for example, a flat amount per pay period) provided that the accrual is on a regular basis and results in the employee having no less than 24 hours of accrued sick leave by the 120th calendar day of employment (or each calendar year or 12-month period) and no less than 40 hours by the 200th calendar day of employment (or each calendar year or 12-month period). The same 80-hour/10-day accrual cap and 40-hour/5-day annual usage cap apply.

1. Frontloading (lump-sum advance). The employer may provide not less than 40 hours or 5 days of paid sick leave at the beginning of each year of employment, calendar year, or 12-month period. Under this method, carryover and accrual-cap rules do not apply because the full annual amount is provided up front. (For initial hires, the employer must make at least 24 hours or 3 days available by the employee's 120th calendar day and at least 40 hours or 5 days available by the 200th calendar day, unless the employer frontloads the full amount immediately at hire.)

Effective date and transition. SB 616 took effect January 1, 2024. Employers who track sick leave on a non-calendar-year cycle (for example, by anniversary date) were required to adjust their usage cap to 40 hours/5 days on January 1, 2024 even if the employee's 12-month period had not yet reset; alternatively, frontloading employers could reset the measurement period to January 1, 2024 and provide the full 40 hours/5 days at that time. The DIR Division of Labor Standards Enforcement published detailed transition guidance in its December 2023 FAQ update.

An employee may begin using accrued sick leave on the 90th day of employment (the employer may not impose a longer waiting period, though it may allow earlier use).

Source: Cal. Lab. Code § 246 Source: DIR DLSE, California Paid Sick Leave: Frequently Asked Questions

California Government Code § 12945.2(c)(3) specifies four categories of qualifying reasons that entitle an eligible employee to take CFRA leave.

Birth, adoption, or foster placement. An employee may take leave for the birth of a child or for placement of a child with the employee in connection with adoption or foster care. This bonding leave must be taken within one year of the child's birth or placement.

Care for a family member with a serious health condition. An employee may take leave to care for a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, domestic partner, or designated person who has a serious health condition. A "designated person" means any individual related by blood or whose association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship; the employee may identify the designated person at the time the employee requests leave, and the employer may limit an employee to one designated person per 12-month period. "Serious health condition" under Cal. Code Regs. tit. 2, § 11087(u) means an illness, injury (including on-the-job injuries), impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves either inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential health care facility or continuing treatment by a health care provider, including treatment for substance abuse.

Employee's own serious health condition. An employee may take leave because of the employee's own serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the position. CFRA medical leave does not include leave taken for disability on account of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions; those absences are covered under California's separate Pregnancy Disability Leave law (Cal. Gov. Code § 12945) and do not count against the 12-week CFRA entitlement.

Qualifying military exigency. An employee may take leave because of a qualifying exigency related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of the employee's spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Armed Forces of the United States. The definition of "qualifying exigency" is set forth in California Unemployment Insurance Code § 3302.2, which incorporates the corresponding federal FMLA standards for military-exigency leave.

Source: Cal. Gov't Code § 12945.2

California Labor Code § 246.5, as amended effective October 1, 2025, specifies five categories of permitted uses for accrued paid sick leave. An employee may request paid sick leave orally or in writing; the employer may not condition use on finding a replacement worker.

Diagnosis, care, treatment, or preventive care for the employee or a family member. An employee may use paid sick leave for diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition of, or preventive care for, either the employee or the employee's family member. Preventive care includes routine examinations such as annual physicals and flu shots. This is the broadest and most frequently invoked use category.

"Family member" defined. For purposes of paid sick leave, "family member" includes the employee's child (biological, adopted, foster, step, legal ward, or a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis, regardless of age or dependency); parent (biological, adoptive, foster, step, or legal guardian of the employee or the employee's spouse or registered domestic partner, or a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor); spouse; registered domestic partner; grandparent; grandchild; sibling; and designated person (any individual related by blood or whose association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship; the employee identifies the designated person at the time leave is requested, and the employer may limit the employee to one designated person per 12-month period).

Victim-of-violence purposes. An employee who is a victim, or whose family member is a victim, of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other qualifying acts of violence may use paid sick leave for enumerated protective and legal purposes. The scope of these purposes has expanded over time:

• For leave taken on or before December 31, 2024, the purposes described in Labor Code § 230(c) and § 230.1(a) (obtaining relief such as a restraining order, participating in safety planning, seeking medical attention, obtaining services from a domestic violence shelter or rape crisis center, obtaining psychological counseling, or participating in safety planning related to domestic violence or sexual assault).

• For leave taken on or after January 1, 2025, the purposes described in Government Code § 12945.8(a)(1), (2), (3) and (b), which add attendance at judicial proceedings as a victim or immediate family member of a victim of violent felonies, serious felonies, or felony theft/embezzlement; obtaining or attempting to obtain relief (temporary restraining order, restraining order, or other injunctive relief); and relocation, enrolling children in new schools, providing care to a family member recovering from injuries, seeking legal services, or preparing for or attending legal proceedings related to the violence.

• For leave taken on or after January 1, 2026, the additional purposes described in Government Code § 12945.8(a)(4), including attendance at any delinquency proceeding, post-arrest release decision, plea, sentencing, post-conviction release decision, or any proceeding in which a right of the victim is at issue.

Agricultural-employee emergency leave. For an employee who is an agricultural employee (as defined in Labor Code § 9110) who works outside and is entitled to paid sick days, the employee may use leave to avoid smoke, heat, or flooding conditions created by a local or state emergency, including when the employee's worksite is closed due to those conditions. There are smoke, heat, or flood conditions created by a local or state emergency if the Governor proclaims a state of emergency under Government Code § 8625, or a local emergency is proclaimed under Government Code § 8630, due to smoke, heat, or flooding.

Jury duty and witness/victim court appearances (effective January 1, 2025). Effective January 1, 2025, employees may use paid sick leave to serve on a jury, to appear in court to comply with a subpoena or other lawful court order as a witness, to seek a protective order as a victim of crime or stalking, and to attend specified legal proceedings when the employee or their family member is a victim of crime (as cross-referenced to Government Code § 12945.8).

Source: Cal. Lab. Code § 246.5 Source: Cal. Lab. Code § 245.5 Source: DIR DLSE, California Paid Sick Leave: Frequently Asked Questions

California Government Code § 12945 requires employers with five or more employees to provide up to four months of job-protected leave per pregnancy to any employee who is disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition. Unlike the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), which requires 12 months of service and 1,250 hours worked in the prior 12 months, PDL has no minimum service or hours requirement — an employee is eligible from the first day of employment.

"Four months" defined. "Four months" means the working days the employee normally would work within one-third of a year, or approximately 17 1/3 weeks. For a full-time employee working five days per week, this equals roughly 88 working days; for a part-time employee working three days per week, the same four-month period would yield approximately 53 working days. The leave is measured by the employee's actual work schedule, not calendar time.

"Reasonable period of time" — actual disability controls. The statute specifies that an employee is entitled to leave "for a reasonable period of time not to exceed four months." Cal. Gov't Code § 12945(a)(1) defines "reasonable period of time" as "that period during which the employee is disabled on account of pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition." The employee's health care provider determines the period of actual disability. If the employee is disabled for less than four months, the entitlement is limited to the period of actual disability; the four-month cap is a maximum, not an automatic grant.

Covered conditions. PDL covers any period during which the employee cannot perform one or more essential functions of her position, or cannot perform those functions without undue risk to herself, the successful completion of the pregnancy, or other persons, due to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition. This includes severe morning sickness, prenatal care appointments, doctor-ordered bed rest, childbirth, recovery from childbirth, postpartum depression, lactation or breastfeeding-related medical conditions, and pregnancy loss or termination. Leave may be taken intermittently (in separate blocks of time) or on a reduced-schedule basis when medically necessary, as certified by the employee's health care provider.

Relationship to CFRA baby-bonding leave. PDL is separate and distinct from the 12-week CFRA entitlement for baby bonding. An employee who takes four months of PDL for pregnancy disability and then meets CFRA's eligibility requirements (12 months of service, 1,250 hours worked, employer with five or more employees) may take an additional 12 weeks of job-protected CFRA leave to bond with the newborn child. The maximum combined entitlement is therefore four months of PDL plus 12 weeks of CFRA leave. Pregnancy disability does not count against the CFRA entitlement; the two leaves run consecutively, not concurrently.

Job protection and reinstatement. At the end of PDL, the employer must reinstate the employee to the same position the employee held before the leave, unless that position was eliminated for legitimate business reasons unrelated to the pregnancy disability leave. If the same position is not available for a non-discriminatory reason, the employer must offer a comparable position. This reinstatement obligation is stronger than CFRA's (which permits reinstatement to the same or a comparable position from the outset).

Health-plan continuation. Employers must maintain and pay for group health plan coverage for the employee during PDL under the same terms that applied before the leave commenced, for up to four months. Cal. Gov't Code § 12945(a)(2). If the employee fails to return from leave after the period of leave expires, the employer may recover the premium paid, but only if the employee's failure to return is for a reason other than the continuation, recurrence, or onset of the health condition that entitled the employee to leave, or other circumstances beyond the employee's control.

Enforcement. The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) enforces PDL. An employer's refusal to grant PDL, interference with an employee's exercise of PDL rights, or retaliation for taking or requesting PDL is an unlawful employment practice under the Fair Employment and Housing Act.

Source: Cal. Gov't Code § 12945 Source: CRD Pregnancy Disability Leave Fact Sheet Source: CRD, Your Rights and Obligations as a Pregnant Employee Source: CRD, Family Care & Medical Leave & Pregnancy Disability Leave

California Labor Code § 246(c) imposes a mandatory 90-day employment period before an employee may use accrued paid sick leave, even though sick leave begins accruing from the employee's first day of employment under § 246(b). This means an employee who begins working on January 1 will accrue sick leave immediately under the standard 1:30 accrual formula (one hour per 30 hours worked), but may not draw on that accrued balance until April 1 (the 90th calendar day of employment).

The waiting period is a ceiling, not a floor. Section 246(c) permits an employer to impose a waiting period of up to 90 days; it does not require the full 90 days. An employer may allow earlier use—for example, permitting employees to use accrued sick leave starting on day 60 or even day 1—but it may not extend the waiting period beyond the 90th day of employment. The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) FAQ confirms that the 90-day period is the maximum permissible restriction on use.

Interaction with accrual methods. The 90-day waiting period applies regardless of which accrual or frontloading method the employer adopts. For employers who use:

• Standard 1:30 accrual (one hour per 30 hours worked): the employee accrues hours starting on day 1 but may not use them until day 90. If a full-time employee working 40 hours per week accrues approximately 1.33 hours per week, by day 90 (roughly 12–13 weeks) the employee will have accrued approximately 16–17 hours available for immediate use.

• Alternative accrual methods (e.g., flat grant per pay period): the employer must still ensure that at least 24 hours are accrued by the 120th calendar day of employment and at least 40 hours by the 200th calendar day (§ 246(b)(2)), but the 90-day waiting period remains in force. The employee may not use any accrued hours before day 90.

• Frontloading (lump-sum advance of 40 hours or 5 days at the beginning of the year): the 90-day waiting period still applies to newly hired employees. Section 246(d) permits frontloading employers to provide at least 24 hours or 3 days by the employee's 120th calendar day and at least 40 hours or 5 days by the 200th calendar day for new hires. Although the statute does not explicitly repeat the 90-day use restriction for frontloading employers in this context, the DLSE FAQ interprets the 90-day waiting period in § 246(c) to apply universally—the employee may not use frontloaded leave before the 90th day. (Employers who wish to permit earlier use remain free to do so, but the statutory safe harbor runs only to day 90.)

Counting the 90 days. The statute measures the waiting period in calendar days from the commencement of employment, not working days. An employee hired on January 1 may use accrued sick leave starting April 1, regardless of whether the employee worked every scheduled day or took unpaid time off during the first 89 days.

Earlier use is permissible but not required. Nothing in § 246 prohibits an employer from adopting a more generous policy that allows immediate use or use after a shorter waiting period (e.g., 30 or 60 days). Local ordinances in some California cities—such as San Francisco's Paid Sick Leave Ordinance, which historically allowed use after 90 days of employment within San Francisco or, in some versions, immediate use—may impose different or more generous rules. However, state law sets the maximum waiting period at 90 days for employees covered by § 246.

No waiting period for permissible uses under § 246.5. Once the 90-day employment period is satisfied, the employee may use accrued (or frontloaded) paid sick leave for any of the permitted purposes enumerated in Labor Code § 246.5: diagnosis, care, treatment, or preventive care for the employee or a family member; victim-of-violence purposes; agricultural-employee emergency leave (smoke, heat, flooding); and (as of January 1, 2025) jury duty and witness/victim court appearances. The employer may not impose an additional waiting period for specific categories of leave once the initial 90-day threshold is crossed.

Source: Cal. Lab. Code § 246 Source: DIR DLSE, California Paid Sick Leave: Frequently Asked Questions