Effective January 1, 2027, Senate Bill (SB) 1149 expands the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) bereavement leave law to let covered employees take bereavement leave for the death of a “designated person” — broadening who counts as a “family member” beyond the categories currently listed in the statute.
The Current Bereavement Leave Framework
The CFRA already requires covered employers to give qualified employees up to five days of bereavement leave following the death of a family member. A covered employer is one that employs five or more persons, along with the state and its political and civil subdivisions. A qualified employee is one who has been employed for at least 30 days before the leave begins (excluding persons covered by California Government Code Section 19859.3).
Absent an employer’s policy to the contrary, bereavement leave is normally unpaid, except that the employee may use vacation, personal leave, accrued and available sick leave, or available compensatory time off for such leave. The CFRA also protects employees who use this leave. An employer may not refuse to hire an applicant, or discharge, demote, discipline, or otherwise discriminate against an employee, because the employee exercised the right to bereavement leave. Employers are likewise barred from interfering with that right.
What SB 1149 Changes
SB 1149 adds a “designated person” to the list of family members whose death qualifies an employee for bereavement leave. Under the amendment, a “designated person” is “any individual related by blood or whose association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.” In practice, this means employees will be able to take bereavement leave for the death of extended relatives — aunts, uncles, cousins — as well as people who function as family even without a legal or biological tie.
An employee does not have to name a designated person in advance. The employee may identify the designated person at the time of requesting the leave. However, employers may limit each employee to one designated person per 12-month period.
As under the existing law, an employer may request documentation of the death of the “designated person” within 30 days of the first day of leave. Acceptable documentation includes, but is not limited to, “a death certificate, a published obituary, or written verification of death, burial, or memorial services from a mortuary, funeral home, burial society, crematorium, religious institution, or governmental agency.”
Employers must keep any bereavement leave request confidential, and any documentation the employee provides must be maintained as confidential and disclosed only to internal personnel or counsel as needed, or as otherwise required by law.
What Employers Should Do
Employers with California operations should update their bereavement leave policies and request forms before January 1, 2027 to account for the new designated-person category. Employers should also train managers and HR staff on the one-designation-per-year limit, the documentation window, and the confidentiality obligations.
If you have any questions about this change in the law or any other leave issues, please reach out to your favorite CDF attorney.
