A California law that took effect Jan. 1 expands the type of people that workers can use sick time and family leave to care for when needed. The new law adds the option to take leave to care for a “designated person.” Under the new legislation, that person can be a blood relative or someone else the employee considers like family.
California workers can take paid sick days and up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to care for a child, or sick immediate family member with a few exceptions. The two pieces of underlying legislation are the California Family Rights Act and the Healthy Workplace Healthy Family Act of 2014.
Assembly Bill 1041’s authors point out that the LGBTQ+ community often relies on support from people outside their biological families. The number of multigenerational households is also on the rise. “We know it’s extremely important, because the definition of family just in general is expanding,” said Sela Steiger, a staff attorney with the nonprofit Legal Aid at Work. “Chosen family is increasingly important for all types of people.”
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