U.S.: California’s Governor mandates 5 days of protected leave for reproductive loss!
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U.S.: California’s Governor mandates 5 days of protected leave for reproductive loss!
On October 10, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law SB 848, requiring covered employers to provide qualified employees with up to five days of protected leave after a “reproductive loss event.” Existing California law protects an employee’s right to bereavement leave following the death of a family member. However, reproductive losses were largely left unaddressed even though somewhere between 10 and 20% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage. SB 848 will fill that gap when it takes effect on January 1, 2024.
One of the incidents that triggered this law!
“I was at full term. I was on my due date. I was ready to go, and all of a sudden, there was no heartbeat,” Esmiralda Garcia said.
In May of 2015, Garcia was faced with her worst nightmare. Despite a perfect pregnancy through nine months, something went terribly wrong the day she was supposed to deliver her baby girl, Camille.
“I was waiting to give birth to her, and she was a stillborn,” Garcia said. “So it was pretty horrifying.”
It was horrifying for Garcia, her husband, and her two boys who were 8 and 4 years old at the time.
It’s a heartbreak that so many families have experienced, but a new California law taking effect in 2024 is meant to help ease the burden on families like the Garcias.
California Senator Susan Rubio takes up the cause!
“Everyone’s been touched by either miscarriage or a loss of trying to become a family,” said California Senator Susan Rubio.
Senator Rubio introduced and helped pass Senate Bill 848, employment leave for reproductive loss.
“It recognizes just the pain felt by the family, and it gives family time to grieve and try again,” Rubio added.
What does the new law provide!
Under the new law, California companies with five or more employees will be required to provide bereavement leave to those experiencing miscarriage, stillbirth, failed IVF, failed adoption, and other reproductive loss.
An employee will be granted five days of protected leave per quarter, capped at 20 days per year.
“We are trying to protect a worker’s right to come back to work without retaliation,” Rubio said. “So I hope that families that are grieving now can stay home and really take care of themselves before they come back to work.”
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