Starting January 1, Bereavement Leave Can Cover the Person You Choose
The person who helped raise you was not your parent on paper, and when they died, your time off depended on how understanding your manager felt that week.
It should not work that way. For many people, it has.
The gap between family as people live it and family as a policy lists it is common, and starting next year it has a defined answer.
California’s bereavement leave law, Gov’t Code § 12945.7, gives employees of employers with five or more employees up to five days off after the death of a family member, once they have worked there at least 30 days. Whether you qualify turns on your employer’s size and your start date.
Beginning January 1, 2027, SB 1149 adds a “designated person” to that list: someone related by blood, or whose relationship with you is, in the statute’s words, “the equivalent of a family relationship,” whom you can identify when you request the leave. Your employer may limit you to one designated person in a 12-month period, so when you make the request matters.
The rest of the law stays in place. The days have to be used within three months after the death, your employer may ask for documentation within 30 days of the first day of leave, and the leave can be unpaid unless your employer’s policy says otherwise, although you can use vacation, personal leave, accrued sick leave, or comp time.
Your employer cannot retaliate against you for taking it. It is also a separate right from CFRA family and medical leave.
California keeps widening who counts. Not every loss is covered yet, and before January 1, 2027, the designated-person category does not exist at all.
The practical risk is a request made only out loud, to a manager who does not know the rule changed. A written request with the person named closes that gap.
If you were denied bereavement time or penalized for taking it, the details of who died, when you asked, and what your employer’s policy says will decide what comes next. That is what a first conversation is for.
Contact Michael Trust Law, APC for a no-charge initial consultation. The facts determine whether you have a claim – and how much of a conversation that takes.
This post shares general information based on common patterns I see in California workplaces. It is not legal advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and outcomes depend on specific facts – no lawyer can guarantee a result. Past results do not guarantee or predict future outcomes. AI may have been used to create this post. All content reviewed by a CA attorney before publication.