Governor Schwarzenegger signed a new law on October 9 granting military spouses unpaid time off from work to ensure that military families can spend time together when the service member is on leave from deployment. The law took effect immediately. Here’s what you need to know.
Leave for Military Spouses
The new law, A.B. 392, applies to public and private employers with 25 or more employees. These employers must allow “qualified employees” to take up to 10 days of unpaid time off each time the employee’s spouse-service member is home on leave. A qualified employee is someone who satisfies all of these requirements:
- The employee’s husband or wife is a member of the armed forces who has been deployed to a combat theater or zone or is a National Guard or Reserves member who has been deployed during a period of military conflict.
- The employee works for you an average of at least 20 hours a week. (Independent contractors don’t qualify for the leave.)
- The employee notifies you that he or she intends to take leave, within two business days of receiving official notice that the spouse will be on leave from deployment.
- The employee gives you written documentation certifying that the service member will be on leave during the period for which workplace leave is requested.
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Employers are prohibited from retaliating against a qualified employee who requests or takes leave under this law. Also, the leave doesn’t prevent you from allowing a qualified employee to take another leave, such as paid vacation, to which he or she is otherwise entitled, and it doesn’t affect a qualified employee’s rights with respect to any other employee benefit available under other laws.
For More Information
For information on military leave generally, see the CEA Special Report, Managing Leave and Reinstatement for Military Reservists.