Effective immediately, California employers must, under certain circumstances, provide up to ten days of unpaid leave to employees who have spouses in the military.
Effective immediately, California employers must, under certain circumstances, provide up to ten days of unpaid leave to employees who have spouses in the military.
On October 9, 2007, Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law Assembly Bill 392. AB 392 adds a section to the California Military and Veteran’s Code to permit the spouse of an individual in the military to take time off from work while the military spouse is on leave from deployment.
Who is affected?
The new law applies to all employers with 25 or more employees. To be eligible for the leave, the employee must work at least an average of 20 hours per week and have a spouse who is on active duty for any of the United States Armed Forces, National Guard or Army Reserves, in an area of military conflict.
What must an employee seeking this time off do?
To be entitled to the unpaid ten days off from work, the employee must provide notice to the employer, no later than two business days after receiving an “official notice” that the spouse will be on leave from deployment, that the employee intends to take time off from work during the leave from deployment. Further, the employee must provide “written documentation, certifying” that the spouse will be on leave from deployment.
While the statute presumes that the employee will “request” the time off, there are no circumstances specified under which the employer may deny the leave, or request that the leave be taken at some other time during the spouse’s period of deployment.
Employers’ Bottom Line:
There are uncertainties about this law. For example, as noted above, the law does not address whether an employer has flexibility to ask that the ten-day leave be scheduled in accordance with business operational needs. As a result, it is recommended that employers provide as much flexibility as possible when faced with requests for leave under this new law. The new law prohibits retaliation against an employee for asserting rights under this section.
California employers must provide a number of different types of leave to employees. Employers must not only provide leave for obvious reasons (such as due to disabilities, family leave, pregnancy leave, occupational leave), but also for less obvious reasons (such as substance abuse rehabilitation, attending school conferences, attending school activities, and attending adult literacy education). Failure to provide all of the necessary and legally permissible leaves can be quite costly for employers.
If you have any questions about this new law, any leaves of absence required under California law, or any other aspect of employment law, please contact the Ford & Harrison attorney with whom you usually work or the author of this Alert, Helene Wasserman, at hwasserman@fordharrison.com or 213-237-2403.
Helene is the host of the Employer Helpcast, which is a “one stop website” for both “nuts and bolts” employment law advice and insight into new legal developments affecting employers.
