California employees have the right to take up to five days of leave following a reproductive loss event, providing crucial time to process grief and attend to personal needs.
What Qualifies as a Reproductive Loss Event?
Under California law, a reproductive loss event includes:
- Miscarriage
- Stillbirth
- Failed adoption
- Failed surrogacy
- Unsuccessful assisted reproduction
The law recognizes that reproductive loss extends beyond biological pregnancies to include various paths to parenthood that may not succeed.
Key Protections for Employees
For individuals experiencing reproductive loss, the law provides several important protections:
- Up to five days of leave per reproductive loss event
- The days need not be consecutive
- An employer cannot retaliate against employees for taking this leave
- The information provided to employers must be kept confidential, disclosed only to internal personnel or counsel, as necessary
Employees who experience multiple reproductive loss events can take up to 20 days of leave within a 12-month period.
How Leave Works
If your employer has an existing leave policy, reproductive loss leave falls under that policy. If no such policy exists, the leave may be unpaid, but employees can use vacation time, personal leave, sick leave, or compensatory time off if available.
Broad Coverage
This protection applies to employees who:
- Have worked for their employer for at least 30 days
- Work for an employer with five or more employees
- Include public sector employees at state, county, city or other government agencies
Taking Action After Discrimination
If you’ve been denied reproductive loss leave or faced retaliation for requesting it, you may have legal remedies. California law specifically prohibits employers from interfering with your right to take this leave or retaliating against you for exercising this right.
If you feel that your rights may have been violated consider:
- Documenting your request for leave and the response, having both in writing if possible
- Documenting any adverse action taken against you for seeking to use leave
- Consulting with an employment attorney who can help you evaluate your rights and pursue claims that you may have against your employer