California Labor Code 230.1 – (a) In addition to the requirements and prohibitions imposed on …
(a) In addition to the requirements and prohibitions imposed on employees pursuant to Section 230, an employer with 25 or more employees shall not discharge, or in any manner discriminate or retaliate against, an employee who is a victim, for taking time off from work for any of the following purposes:
(1) To seek medical attention for injuries caused by crime or abuse.
Terms Used In California Labor Code 230.1
- Agency: means the Labor and Workforce Development Agency. See California Labor Code 18.5
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Department: means Department of Industrial Relations. See California Labor Code 19
- Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Labor: includes labor, work, or service whether rendered or performed under contract, subcontract, partnership, station plan, or other agreement if the labor to be paid for is performed personally by the person demanding payment. See California Labor Code 200
- Labor Commissioner: means Chief of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. See California Labor Code 21
- Person: means any person, association, organization, partnership, business trust, limited liability company, or corporation. See California Labor Code 18
- Spouse: includes "registered domestic partner" as required by §. See California Labor Code 12.2
- Violation: includes a failure to comply with any requirement of the code. See California Labor Code 22
- Wages: includes all amounts for labor performed by employees of every description, whether the amount is fixed or ascertained by the standard of time, task, piece, commission basis, or other method of calculation. See California Labor Code 200
(2) To obtain services from a domestic violence shelter, program, rape crisis center, or victim services organization or agency as a result of the crime or abuse.
(3) To obtain psychological counseling or mental health services related to an experience of crime or abuse.
(4) To participate in safety planning and take other actions to increase safety from future crime or abuse, including temporary or permanent relocation.
(b) (1) As a condition of taking time off for a purpose set forth in subdivision (a), the employee shall give the employer reasonable advance notice of the employee’s intention to take time off, unless the advance notice is not feasible.
(2) When an unscheduled absence occurs, the employer shall not take any action against the employee if the employee, within a reasonable time after the absence, provides a certification to the employer. Certification shall be sufficient in the form of any of the categories described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 230.
(3) To the extent allowed by law and consistent with subparagraph (D) of paragraph (7) of subdivision (f) of Section 230, employers shall maintain the confidentiality of any employee requesting leave under subdivision (a).
(c) An employee who is discharged, threatened with discharge, demoted, suspended, or in any other manner discriminated or retaliated against in the terms and conditions of employment by their employer because the employee has taken time off for a purpose set forth in subdivision (a) is entitled to reinstatement and reimbursement for lost wages and work benefits caused by the acts of the employer, as well as appropriate equitable relief. An employer who willfully refuses to rehire, promote, or otherwise restore an employee or former employee who has been determined to be eligible for rehiring or promotion by a grievance procedure or hearing authorized by law is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(d) (1) An employee who is discharged, threatened with discharge, demoted, suspended, or in any other manner discriminated or retaliated against in the terms and conditions of employment by their employer because the employee has exercised their rights as set forth in subdivision (a) may file a complaint with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement of the Department of Industrial Relations pursuant to Section 98.7.
(2) Notwithstanding any time limitation in Section 98.7, an employee may file a complaint with the division based upon a violation of subdivision (a) within one year from the date of occurrence of the violation.
(e) An employee may use vacation, personal leave, or compensatory time off that is otherwise available to the employee under the applicable terms of employment, unless otherwise provided by a collective bargaining agreement, for time taken off for a purpose specified in subdivision (a). The entitlement of any employee under this section shall not be diminished by any term or condition of a collective bargaining agreement.
(f) This section does not create a right for an employee to take unpaid leave that exceeds the unpaid leave time allowed under, or is in addition to the unpaid leave time permitted by, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq.).
(g) For purposes of this section:
(1) “Crime” means a crime or public offense as set forth in § 13951 of the Government Code, and regardless of whether any person is arrested for, prosecuted for, or convicted of, committing the crime.
(2) “Domestic violence” means any of the types of abuse set forth in § 6211 of the Family Code, as amended.
(3) “Immediate family member” means a person who is any of the following:
(A) Regardless of age, a biological, adopted, or foster child, stepchild, or legal ward, a child of a domestic partner, a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis, or a person to whom the employee stood in loco parentis when the person was a minor.
(B) A biological, adoptive, or foster parent, stepparent, or legal guardian of an employee or an employee’s spouse or domestic partner, or a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee or the employee’s spouse or domestic partner was a minor child.
(C) A person to whom the employee is legally married under the laws of any state, or a domestic partner of an employee as registered under the laws of any state or political subdivision.
(D) A biological, foster, or adoptive sibling, a stepsibling, or a half-sibling.
(E) Any other individual whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D).
(4) “Sexual assault” means any of the crimes set forth in Section 261, 261.5, 262, 265, 266, 266a, 266b, 266c, 266g, 266j, 267, 269, 273.4, 285, 286, 287, 288, 288.5, 289, or 311.4 of, or former Section 288a of, the Penal Code, as amended.
(5) “Stalking” means a crime set forth in § 646.9 of the Penal Code or § 1708.7 of the Civil Code.
(6) “Victim” includes any of the following:
(A) A victim of stalking, domestic violence, or sexual assault.
(B) A victim of a crime that caused physical injury or that caused mental injury and a threat of physical injury.
(C) A person whose immediate family member is deceased as the direct result of a crime.
(7) “Victim services organization or agency” means an agency or organization that has a documented record of providing services to victims.
(h) (1) Employers shall inform each employee of their rights established under this section and subdivisions (c), (e), and (f) of Section 230 in writing. The information shall be provided to new employees upon hire and to other employees upon request.
(2) The Labor Commissioner shall develop a form that an employer may use to comply with the notice requirements in paragraph (1). The form shall set forth the rights and duties of employers and employees under this section in clear and concise language. The Labor Commissioner shall post the form on the commissioner’s internet website to make it available to employers who are required to comply with this section. If an employer elects not to use the form developed by the Labor Commissioner, the notice provided by the employer to the employees shall be substantially similar in content and clarity to the form developed by the Labor Commissioner. The Labor Commissioner shall revise the form and post it in accordance with this paragraph on or before January 1, 2022.
(3) Employers shall not be required to comply with paragraph (1) until the Labor Commissioner posts the form on the commissioner’s internet website in accordance with paragraph (2).
(Amended by Stats. 2020, Ch. 224, Sec. 2. (AB 2992) Effective January 1, 2021.)