A new law permits employees who are the victims of serious crimes and relatives and domestic partners of crime victims to take unpaid leave from work to attend legal proceedings. The law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2004.
Our HR Management & Compliance Report: How To Comply with California and Federal Leave Laws, covers everything you need to know to stay in compliance with both state and federal law in one of the trickiest areas of compliance for even the most experienced HR professional. Learn the rules for pregnancy and parental leaves, medical exams and certifications, intermittent leaves, required notices, and more.
New Leave for Crime Victims
- Who’s eligible. The right to take leave belongs to an employee who is: 1) a crime victim; 2) a crime victim’s immediate family member—including spouse, child, stepchild, brother, sister, stepsister, mother, stepmother, father, or stepfather; or 3) a registered domestic partner of a crime victim or the child of a registered domestic partner. The crime must be a violent or serious felony, or a felony of theft or embezzlement. Check with the court, agency, or office indicated on the documentation accompanying the employee’s leave request if you’re unsure whether the crime qualifies.
- Reasons for leave. An eligible employee must be given leave to attend judicial proceedings related to the crime.
- Leave requests and notice. In advance of the time off, the employee must give you a copy of the official notice to the victim of each scheduled proceeding unless prior notice to you isn’t feasible. When it’s not possible or an unscheduled absence occurs, the new law allows the employee a reasonable amount of time after the absence to give you documentation substantiating that they attended a judicial proceeding. This documentation must be from the court or agency that set the hearing, the district attorney or prosecuting attorney’s office, or the victim/witness office that’s advocating on the victim’s behalf.
- Election to use paid time off. An employee can use accrued paid time, personal leave, sick leave, or comp time for the absence. But it appears you can’t force the employee to use accrued paid leave time.
- No retaliation. You can’t discharge or discriminate against an employee for taking time off under the new law. An employee who believes they’ve been retaliated against can file a complaint with the California Labor Commissioner.
- Confidentiality. You must keep confidential any records relating to an absence under the new law.
Get Prepared
Be sure to update your employee handbook to reflect this new leave. If you already have a policy regarding leave for victims of sexual assault or domestic violence, you can add this new leave right to that policy. Also, check that you have procedures in place to keep records relating to an absence under the new law in a confidential file. And be sure managers understand the law.