If you work in California and are donating an organ, state law gives you up to 30 business days of paid leave and another 30 business days of unpaid leave within a one-year period, with your job, health coverage, and seniority protected while you’re out. That is the core of California organ donor leave under the Michelle Maykin Memorial Donation Protection Act, and the rest is detail worth knowing before you schedule surgery.
Who Qualifies
The law applies to employees of employers with 15 or more workers.1California Public Law. California Labor Code Section 1509 There is no minimum length of employment, and the statute does not distinguish between full-time and part-time workers. If your employer meets the size threshold and you are donating an organ, you are eligible.
One thing you have to do before leave starts: give your employer written verification from a medical provider confirming that you are an organ donor and that there is a medical necessity for the donation.2California Legislative Information. California Labor Code Section 1510 Your transplant team can produce this.
How Much Time Off and How It Gets Paid
You are entitled to up to 30 business days of paid leave within a one-year period measured from the date leave starts.2California Legislative Information. California Labor Code Section 1510 Business days, not calendar days. Weekends and holidays don’t count against you, so 30 business days works out to roughly six calendar weeks.
If your recovery needs more time, you can take an additional 30 business days of unpaid leave within the same one-year window.2California Legislative Information. California Labor Code Section 1510 Combined, that’s up to 60 business days off, which is meaningful cushion for procedures like kidney or liver donation.
Your Employer Can Make You Use PTO First
Here’s the detail that surprises donors. Your employer is allowed to require you to use up to two weeks of accrued sick leave, vacation, or PTO before the paid organ donation leave kicks in.2California Legislative Information. California Labor Code Section 1510 The employer doesn’t have to do this, but the statute permits it. A collective bargaining agreement that prohibits the practice controls. Either way, the total amount of time you get off doesn’t shrink; only the source of pay for the first two weeks changes.
If your union contract or employer benefit plan gives you more generous donor leave than the statute, you get the better deal. Agreements entered on or after January 1, 2011 cannot reduce the statutory rights.2California Legislative Information. California Labor Code Section 1510
Bone Marrow Donation Is Treated Differently
The same statute covers bone marrow donors, but the entitlement is much shorter: up to five business days of paid leave in a one-year period, with the same medical certification requirement. There is no additional unpaid leave entitlement for bone marrow donors under this law. Your employer may require you to use up to five days of accrued sick leave, vacation, or PTO before the paid bone marrow leave begins.2California Legislative Information. California Labor Code Section 1510
Health Coverage and Seniority While You’re Out
During paid donor leave, your employer must continue your group health plan coverage and pay for it at the same level as if you were actively working.2California Legislative Information. California Labor Code Section 1510 The statute does not extend that employer-paid coverage guarantee to the unpaid leave period. During unpaid leave, you may need to arrange to pay your share of premiums directly, depending on your plan and employer policy.
All of your leave, paid or unpaid, counts as continuous service. Your seniority, eligibility for salary adjustments, vacation accrual, sick leave accrual, and PTO balance are all preserved as though you never left.2California Legislative Information. California Labor Code Section 1510 You shouldn’t come back to find your anniversary date reset.
Getting Your Job Back
When leave ends, your employer must restore you to the position you held when leave began.3California Legislative Information. California Labor Code Section 1511 The statute doesn’t use softer language like “comparable position.” Same job.
Retaliation Is Illegal
Your employer cannot interfere with, restrain, or deny your right to donor leave, and cannot fire, fine, suspend, discipline, or otherwise punish you for using the leave or for opposing practices that violate the statute.4California Legislative Information. California Labor Code Section 1512 That second piece protects you if you speak up about a coworker’s donor leave rights being violated too.
If retaliation happens, you can file a civil lawsuit in superior court. A judge can issue an injunction stopping the illegal conduct and order equitable relief, which in practice can include reinstatement, back pay, and compensation for lost benefits.5California Legislative Information. California Labor Code Section 1513
How This Interacts With Federal FMLA
If you qualify for federal Family and Medical Leave Act leave, your organ donation will almost certainly count. The U.S. Department of Labor has confirmed that organ donation is a serious health condition under FMLA because the procedure requires a hospital stay, which meets the inpatient care definition.6U.S. Department of Labor. WHD Opinion Letter FMLA2018-2-A Your health before surgery and your reasons for donating don’t affect the analysis.
FMLA provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for employees who have worked at least 12 months and 1,250 hours for an employer with 50 or more employees. California donor leave and FMLA leave can run concurrently if you qualify for both. The value of the California statute is that it makes a chunk of the time paid, which FMLA alone does not. If your California paid and unpaid donor leave runs out and you still need recovery time, remaining FMLA leave can extend your job-protected time off.