California Bereavement Leave: Five Days, Pay, and Notice Rules

California bereavement leave gives most employees up to five days off after the death of a close family member, with protection against retaliation for taking it. The right comes from Assembly Bill 1949, codified at Government Code section 12945.7, and took effect on January 1, 2023.¹

Who Qualifies

The law reaches private employers with five or more employees and all public employers, including state and local agencies. If your private employer has fewer than five workers, this statute does not apply, though the employer may still offer bereavement leave as a matter of policy.¹

You must have worked for the employer for at least 30 days before your leave begins. There is no minimum hours-per-week requirement, so part-time employees who clear the 30-day mark are covered along with full-time staff.²

Which Deaths Are Covered

You can use bereavement leave after the death of a spouse, domestic partner, child, parent, parent-in-law, sibling, grandparent, or grandchild. These categories track the family definitions used in the California Family Rights Act.¹

The entitlement is per death. If you lose two qualifying family members in the same year, you get five days for each loss, not five combined.¹

Deaths of relatives, friends, or chosen family outside those eight categories are not covered by the statute. Your employer’s own policy may define family more broadly, so it is worth checking your handbook.

How the Five Days Work

You get up to five days per qualifying death, and the days do not have to be taken consecutively. You might take two days right after the death for a funeral and use the remaining three weeks later for a memorial or to handle estate matters.³

All five days must be used within three months of the date of death. After that window closes, any unused days for that loss expire.¹

The statute is a floor. If your employer already offers more than five days or a longer usage window, the more generous policy controls.

Pay During the Leave

The five days are unpaid by default. If your employer already has a paid bereavement policy, that policy governs and you receive whatever it provides.¹

Even without paid bereavement, your employer must let you use accrued paid time off to cover the days. You can draw from sick leave, vacation, personal leave, or compensatory time, and the choice of which to use is yours.²

If your employer’s policy offers some paid bereavement days but fewer than five, you still receive the full five. The paid days come from the employer’s policy, and you can use accrued leave for the balance or take those days without pay.¹

Notice and Documentation

You need to tell your employer you are taking bereavement leave, but because deaths are not predictable, no advance notice is required. Notify your employer as soon as practicable and follow any notice procedures in your leave policy.¹

Your employer may ask for documentation, but only if they request it. You have 30 days from your first day of leave to provide it. Acceptable documentation includes a death certificate, a published obituary, or written verification from a mortuary, funeral home, burial society, crematorium, religious institution, or government agency.²

Employers must keep any documentation and information about the leave confidential. Details about your loss cannot be shared with coworkers or used for any purpose beyond verifying the leave.³

If Your Employer Denies Leave or Retaliates

The statute makes it an unlawful employment practice for a covered employer to refuse a valid bereavement leave request. It also bars retaliation or discrimination for requesting or taking the leave, so your employer cannot fire you, demote you, cut your hours, or take other adverse action because you used it.²

If a violation occurs, you can file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department. You have three years from the date of the violation to submit an intake form. For employers with 5 to 19 employees, CRD offers a small employer family leave mediation program that gives both sides the option to resolve disputes through mediation before formal proceedings.⁴

You can reach CRD at calcivilrights.ca.gov or by calling 800-884-1684.¹

How It Fits With Other Leave

Bereavement leave is separate from, and in addition to, other protected leave in California. It does not count against your California Family Rights Act leave, which provides up to 12 weeks for a serious health condition, caregiving, or bonding with a new child. If grief triggers a serious health condition, CFRA leave could potentially follow the five bereavement days.¹

There is no federal counterpart. The Family and Medical Leave Act covers serious health conditions, childbirth, and military-related situations, but does not list bereavement as a qualifying reason.⁵ The protections here apply within California. If you work remotely for an out-of-state employer, whether the law reaches you depends on your specific employment arrangement and where you perform your work.

1
Civil Rights Department. Bereavement Leave FAQ
2
California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12945.7
3
California Department of Human Resources. 2115 – Bereavement Leave
4
Civil Rights Department. Complaint Process
5
U.S. Department of Labor. Family and Medical Leave Act