Bereavement and Reproductive Loss Leave in California: Employer Duties
Five days. That’s how much bereavement leave a California employer with five or more employees must allow after the death of a family member, under Government Code section 12945.7. A separate statute gives up to five days after a miscarriage, stillbirth, failed adoption, or similar loss. Neither leave has to be paid unless company policy says so. The claims come from denials, from demands for proof the law doesn’t allow, and from discipline that follows the leave.
Which employers and employees are covered?
Employers with five or more employees, and employees with at least 30 days on the job. Both statutes use the same definitions. Section 12945.7 defines an employer as “A person who employs five or more persons to perform services for a wage or salary,” and an employee as “a person employed by the employer for at least 30 days prior to the commencement of the leave.”
The five-employee threshold is much lower than the thresholds for most federal leave laws. A small restaurant or professional office that has never dealt with leave law is covered, and those businesses are the ones most likely to run into trouble.
How does bereavement leave work?
Up to five days, taken within three months of the death, not necessarily in a row. The statute makes it unlawful “for an employer to refuse to grant a request by any employee to take up to five days of bereavement leave upon the death of a family member.” It adds that “The days of bereavement leave need not be consecutive” and that the leave “shall be completed within three months of the date of death of the family member.”
Pay follows the employer’s own policy. If there’s no policy, the leave “may be unpaid,” but the employee may use vacation, personal leave, accrued sick leave, or comp time. If a policy gives fewer than five paid days, the statute requires the employer to allow the rest as unpaid leave, so the total reaches five days.
The definition of family is about to get broader. SB 1149, approved by the Governor on September 27, 2026, adds a “designated person,” defined as “any individual related to the employee by blood or whose association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.” It also provides that “An employer may limit an employee to one designated person per 12-month period for bereavement leave.” The bill has no urgency clause, so it takes effect January 1, 2027.
Can an employer require proof of death?
Yes, within limits. The statute says the employee, “if requested by the employer, within 30 days of the first day of the leave, shall provide documentation of the death of the family member.” Acceptable documentation includes “a death certificate, a published obituary, or written verification of death, burial, or memorial services” from a funeral home, religious institution, or government agency.
Two common mistakes create exposure. One is demanding documents before approving leave, when the statute gives the employee 30 days after the leave starts. The other is circulating the documents. The statute requires the employer to keep them “confidential,” shared only with “internal personnel or counsel, as necessary, or as required by law.”
How does reproductive loss leave work?
Similarly, with a broader set of triggering events and an annual cap. Government Code section 12945.6 makes it unlawful to refuse “to take up to five days of reproductive loss leave following a reproductive loss event.” The statute defines that event as “a failed adoption, failed surrogacy, miscarriage, stillbirth, or an unsuccessful assisted reproduction.”
The leave covers the person who would have been the parent, not only the person who was pregnant. It also has a cap that bereavement leave doesn’t: if an employee has more than one event in a year, the employer “shall not be obligated to grant a total amount of reproductive loss leave time in excess of 20 days within a 12-month period.”
Timing has a special rule. The leave normally must be completed within three months of the event. But if the employee is on pregnancy disability leave, CFRA leave, or another protected leave around the time of the event, the statute gives them until three months after “the end date of the other leave.” Unlike bereavement leave, the reproductive loss statute doesn’t authorize the employer to demand documentation. Requesting medical records for this leave invites a privacy complaint.
How do these leaves create claims?
Usually through a denial or through discipline after the leave. Both statutes make it unlawful to “interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise” the right to leave. Both prohibit discharge, discipline, or discrimination because an employee took the leave, and both declare the leave separate from CFRA leave, so an employer can’t count it against the 12 weeks.
The usual case starts with something small. A manager counts bereavement days as attendance points, or questions why an employee needed a fifth day, or schedules a write-up for the week after the leave. Each of those moves can become an unlawful employment practice claim before the Civil Rights Department, and a termination months later can be tied back to it. The defense depends on whether the leave records, the attendance policy, and the later decision line up.
How do bereavement and reproductive loss leave compare?
| Feature | Bereavement leave | Reproductive loss leave |
|---|---|---|
| Statute | Gov. Code § 12945.7 | Gov. Code § 12945.6 |
| Amount | Up to five days per death | Up to five days per event, capped at 20 days in 12 months |
| Deadline to use | Three months from the death | Three months from the event, or from the end of another protected leave |
| Pay | Per employer policy, with use of other paid leave allowed | Per employer policy, with use of other paid leave allowed |
| Documentation | Employer may request within 30 days of the first day of leave | Not provided for in the statute |
| Change on January 1, 2027 | Adds a designated person (SB 1149) | None |
What should an employer do once a leave claim arrives?
These claims rest on dates and attendance records. Line them up before responding.
- Put a hold on the leave request, any documentation, the timekeeping and attendance records, and the managers’ messages about the employee’s absence and later performance.
- Calendar the deadline on the CRD complaint, demand letter, or lawsuit, and check for an arbitration agreement and an employment practices liability (EPLI) policy that requires prompt notice.
- Identify every manager involved in approving the leave or deciding later discipline, and pause any pending action against the employee until counsel has reviewed it.
- Compare the attendance policy and any points assessed against the leave dates, and confirm the documentation stayed in a confidential file.
- Talk to a lawyer before responding to the agency or the employee, or offering anything to resolve the claim.
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Bereavement and reproductive loss leave questions from California employers
Do we have to pay for bereavement leave?
Not unless the company’s policy provides pay. The statute lets the leave be unpaid where there’s no policy, but it allows the employee to use “vacation, personal leave, accrued and available sick leave, or compensatory time off that is otherwise available.” An employer can’t refuse to let the employee apply those balances to the unpaid days.
Can an employee take bereavement leave for a friend?
Not under the current definition, which lists relatives. Starting January 1, 2027, SB 1149 allows leave for a designated person whose “association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.” Employers should update handbooks before that date and decide whether to apply the one-person-per-year limit.
Does a union contract change the bereavement rules?
It can. The bereavement statute doesn’t apply where a valid collective bargaining agreement “expressly provides for bereavement leave equivalent to that required by this section” and meets wage conditions set out in section 12945.7. Employers relying on that exemption should confirm the contract meets each condition, including the minimum pay rate.
Can these leaves be counted as absences under an attendance policy?
No. Counting protected leave as an occurrence or point is the kind of interference both statutes prohibit. Attendance systems should code these days separately so they never trigger warnings. A termination based partly on points assigned for protected leave is difficult to defend, even if other absences would have justified it.
If a leave claim targets your company
If your company has received a CRD complaint or lawsuit claiming it denied or penalized bereavement or reproductive loss leave, the leave dates and the attendance records usually decide how much of the claim is real. Rosenberger + Kawabata represents employers defending employment lawsuits and claims through its business litigation practice, including claims involving bereavement and reproductive loss leave. Contact Rosenberger + Kawabata online for a confidential consultation, or call (310) 894-6921.
Sources
The statutes are Government Code section 12945.7 and Government Code section 12945.6. The bill is SB 1149 (2025-2026 Reg. Sess.).
This post is general information about California employment law as of November 7, 2026. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Employment statutes, regulations, and court decisions change often, and the outcome of any claim depends on its facts. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.