By Celesti Ripley, SPHR, PHRca
As we highlighted in 2022, the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) and California Paid Sick Leave (“PSL”) provisions allow employees to choose a “designated person” once every 12 months to provide care for illnesses, serious health conditions, or preventative care. Please note that a “designated person” may not necessarily be someone who typically falls under the family member category.
In addition, effective January 1, 2025, Acts of Violence Leave under Assembly Bill 2499 significantly expands protections by extending coverage to various types of victims of violence, offering protected time off, accommodations, and strengthening protections against discrimination and retaliation protections. Notably, the bill allows for a designated person, highlighting the importance for managers to review these requests carefully and approve if the designated person falls within the expanded provisions of these regulations. If your organization has Human Resources, we recommend they handle these requests.
Please be aware that when an employee needs time away under CFRA, PSL and Acts of Violence Leave, an employee can request a designated person as follows:
- Under CFRA a designated person is defined to mean “an individual related by blood or whose association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.” The designated person may be identified by the employee at the time the leave is requested, and the employee is limited to one designated person per 12-month period measured backward from the date the employee first identifies the designated person.
- Under CA PSL a designated person is defined to mean “a person to be identified at the time PSL is requested.” There is no requirement for the designated person to be related by blood or be the equivalent of a family relationship with the employee when using PSL. The designated person may be designated at the time of the request and limited to one designated person per 12-month period measured forward from the date the employee first identifies the designated person.
- Under the Acts of Violence Leave a designated person is defined to mean “an individual related by blood or whose association is the equivalent of a family relationship.” The designated person may be designated at the time of the request and limited to one designated person per 12-month period measured forward from the date the employee first identifies the designated person.
As a reminder, because Labor Code Section 245.5 added a designated person to the list of family members, if you have any type of paid Supplemental Sick Leave (“SSL”) plan, an employee must also be allowed to designate a person to care for while using accrued SSL.
Everyone should ensure that their CFRA and PSL policies and SSL policy (if applicable) are updated to reflect the designated person as a family member and that Acts of Violence Leave, replacing the Victims of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Stalking, and Crime Leave, are added to their Employee Handbook for 2025. Please reach out to your Silvers HR Consultant should you need further assistance.