©2026 Seyfarth Shaw LLP www.seyfarth.com 2026 Cal-Peculiarities | 45 Examples of sufficient certification include but are not limited to, a police report indicating that the employee or covered family member of the employee was a victim; a court order protecting or separating the employee or a covered family member of the employee from the perpetrator of the qualifying act of violence; documentation from a licensed medical professional, domestic violence counselor, victim advocate, licensed health care provider, or counselor that the employee or family member was undergoing treatment or seeking or receiving services directly related to the qualifying act of violence.178 Employers must maintain the employee’s confidentiality.179 Employees may use vacation, personal leave, or other compensatory time off for leave taken to obtain victim-related services.180 2.9 Time Off for Good Deeds and Related Training California employers must allow employees to take leaves of absence to serve as volunteer firefighters, reserve peace officers, and emergency rescue personnel.181 California law also requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide up to 14 days of temporary leave per calendar year to allow employees to engage in fire, law enforcement, and emergency rescue training activities.182 Employees subjected to an adverse employment action for taking time off for these reasons can seek reinstatement and recovery of lost wages and work benefits. A willful violation of this law may constitute a misdemeanor.183 Volunteer service with the Civil Air Patrol also qualifies for up to 10 days of unpaid leave if the employer has 15 or more employees.184 Employees are required to give as much notice as possible of the start and end date for Civil Air Patrol leave, and employers may require that the employee provide certification from the Civil Air Patrol. 185 Employees taking this leave cannot be required to exhaust other forms of leave, such as accrued vacation, and must have their position and benefits restored upon returning from leave. 186 2.10 Voting Leave At least ten days before each statewide election, California employers must post a notice that employees who lack time to vote during nonworking hours may take paid leave of up to two hours to vote.187 This time off to vote should be at the start or end of the regular work shift, whichever allows the most time for voting.188 2.11 Child-Related Activities Leave All employers (regardless of size) must permit parents or guardians to take time off to appear at their child’s school pursuant to a request from the school to do so because the child has been suspended, so long as the employee gives reasonable advance notice.189 Employers with 25 or more employees at the same location must grant unpaid leave of up to 40 hours each year to a parent of a child in grades kindergarten through 12, or at a licensed child care provider, to participate in various activities for their child.190 Among the activities covered are finding and enrolling in a school or licensed child care provider, participating in school-related activities and events, and addressing a school or child care provider emergency.191 “Child care provider or school emergency” includes a request that the child be picked up from school or child care, an attendance policy that prohibits the child from attending the school or licensed child care provider (excluding planned holidays), behavioral or discipline problems, closure or unexpected unavailability of the school or child care provider (excluding planned holidays), or a natural disaster.192 Reasonable advance notice is required and an eight-hour per month limit applies to leave for non-emergency activities.193 Employers must not discriminate against an employee for taking time off for these activities.194 The law defines “parent” expansively to include a parent, guardian, stepparent, foster parent, or grandparent of—or a person who stands in loco parentis to—a child.195
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTkwMTQ4