California Labor Code Section 230 protects you from being fired, demoted, or otherwise punished by your employer for serving on a jury, appearing in court under a subpoena, or taking time off as a victim of crime or abuse to seek a restraining order. It also requires employers to provide reasonable workplace accommodations for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. The protections apply to every California employer, with no minimum number of employees, though a few of the broader victim-leave rights sit in adjacent statutes that only reach larger workplaces.
Jury Duty
Your employer cannot fire you or treat you worse for serving on a jury, as long as you give reasonable notice before your absence.1California Legislative Information. California Labor Code Section 230 This covers both trial juries and inquest juries, and every California employer must comply regardless of size.
California does not require private employers to pay you during jury service.2Judicial Branch of California. Employer Information You can use accrued vacation, personal leave, or comp time if your employer’s policies permit it.
Court Appearances Under Subpoena
Section 230 also protects you when a court orders you to appear as a witness. The statute names crime victims specifically, but the protection reaches any employee complying with a subpoena or court order in a judicial proceeding.1California Legislative Information. California Labor Code Section 230 Your employer cannot fire, demote, or retaliate against you for showing up when a court requires it.
Time Off to Seek a Restraining Order
If you are a victim of crime or abuse, subdivision (c) of Section 230 lets you take time off to obtain or attempt to obtain a temporary restraining order, permanent restraining order, or other injunctive relief to protect your health, safety, or welfare, or that of your child.3California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 230 Every employer in California is covered by this provision, with no employee-count threshold.
Separately, subdivision (e) prohibits your employer from discriminating against you because of your status as a victim, whether or not you need any time off. If you disclose that status or your employer otherwise learns of it, the status alone cannot be used against you.1California Legislative Information. California Labor Code Section 230
Broader victim leave — for medical treatment, counseling, shelter services, or safety planning — sits in Section 230.1 and only applies if your employer has 25 or more employees.4California Legislative Information. California Labor Code Section 230.1 At smaller workplaces, you still have the right under Section 230 to leave work to seek a court order, but the wider set of leave activities is not available.
Reasonable Workplace Accommodations for Victims
Subdivision (f) requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking who ask for changes at work to stay safe. This part of the statute is widely underused.3California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 230
Accommodations you can request include:
- A transfer or reassignment to a different location
- A modified work schedule
- A changed work phone number or workstation
- Installation of a lock or other physical security measure
- Help documenting workplace incidents connected to the violence
- A new safety procedure
- A referral to a victim assistance organization
Your employer must engage in a timely, good-faith interactive process to work out what will help, and should consider whether you face an urgent or dangerous situation. The employer is not required to provide an accommodation that would cause undue hardship to the business or compromise workplace safety for other employees.3California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 230
To trigger this right, disclose your status and ask for an accommodation. Your employer can request a written statement of the accommodation’s purpose and documentation of your victim status, and can ask for recertification every six months.
Notice and Certification
When your absence is foreseeable — a scheduled court date, for example — give your employer reasonable advance notice. The statute doesn’t set a specific number of days; what’s reasonable depends on the circumstances.1California Legislative Information. California Labor Code Section 230
When you can’t schedule the absence in advance, your employer cannot take action against you as long as you provide certification within a reasonable time after. Any of the following works:
- A police report showing you were a victim
- A court order protecting or separating you from the perpetrator, or other evidence from a court or prosecutor that you appeared in court
- Documentation from a licensed medical professional, domestic violence counselor, sexual assault counselor, victim advocate, or other licensed health care provider or counselor confirming treatment or services for injuries or abuse
The same certification categories apply to both leave and accommodation requests.3California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 230
Confidentiality of What You Disclose
Anything you give your employer that identifies you as a victim — police report, court record, written statement, or verbal disclosure — must be kept confidential. Your employer cannot share it except when federal or state law requires disclosure, or when necessary to protect your safety at work.3California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 230 Casually sharing your status with coworkers or supervisors who have no need to know can itself be a violation.
Related Statutes to Know About
Some protections often talked about with Section 230 live elsewhere. Section 230.1 covers the broader victim leave at employers with 25 or more employees. Section 230.3 protects volunteer firefighters, reserve peace officers, and emergency rescue personnel who take time off for emergency duty, though a public safety agency or emergency medical services provider can deny the leave if the employee’s absence would hinder the availability of those services.5California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 230.3 Section 230.4 adds up to 14 days per calendar year for fire, law enforcement, or emergency rescue training, but only at employers with 50 or more employees.6California Legislative Information. California Labor Code Section 230.4
Remedies If Your Employer Retaliates
If your employer fires, demotes, suspends, or otherwise retaliates against you for exercising rights under Section 230, you are entitled to reinstatement to your former position and reimbursement for lost wages and work benefits. The statute also allows “appropriate equitable relief,” which can cover other harm caused by the employer’s actions.3California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 230 An employer who willfully refuses to rehire or restore an employee after a formal determination of eligibility can be charged with a misdemeanor. The same remedies apply under Section 230.3 for retaliation against emergency responders.5California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 230.3
Filing a Retaliation Complaint
File a retaliation complaint with the California Labor Commissioner’s Office, also called the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. You have one year from the retaliatory act to file.7California Department of Industrial Relations. How to File a Retaliation/Discrimination Complaint You do not need a Social Security number or photo ID to file. If you miss the one-year window with the Labor Commissioner, a private lawsuit may still be possible; talk to an attorney about the statutes of limitations that would apply to that route.