California Victims of Violence Leave
Table of Contents
Overview
California Victims of Violence Leave provides unpaid leave for qualifying acts of violence, where the employee or employee’s qualifying family member may need to seek medical care, law enforcement matters, or safety planning.
Employers with 25 or more employees may limit leave to 12 weeks in a 12-month period. If taking leave for a family member, an employer may cap the amount of time an employee takes to 5 days due to relocation circumstances, or 10 days due to court proceedings, safety planning, attend or visit victim service organizations( a shelter, rape crisis center, etc.), counseling services, or child-care needs.
An employer of any size must comply with giving any time requested for obtaining relief, such as restraining orders or ensuring the health and safety of themselves or their child, to attend any court ordered/subpoenaed judicial proceeding, or to serve on a jury.
Additionally, the law provides employees rights to seek safety accommodations at their workplace and protection from retaliation and discrimination.
Note: Qualifying act of violence pertains to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, threatening or causing physical injury or death, or drawing, brandishing or using a weapon to or on another individual.
Managing Cases in AbsenceSoft
The law is configured in AbsenceSoft with the policy code and naming below:
California Victims of Violence Leave (CA-DOM)
Manual Entitlement Considerations:
Employers of any size:
Customers may need to override entitlement if employees need more than 12 weeks of time off to seek injunctive relief for themselves or their child when the employee is a victim.
For employers with 25 or more employees:
Employers may deny entitlement if they want to limit the amount of leave taken when the employee’s family member is the victim (10 days)
Employers may need to deny entitlement if they want to limit the amount of leave taken when the employee needs to relocate or enroll a child in a new school or childcare facility when a family member is a victim (5 days).
For employers with less than 25 employees:
Employers with less than 25 employees are not legally obligated to provide leave for employees when their family member is victim and customers may want to deny eligibility for those cases.
Managing in AbsenceSoft: There are no communication templates that address violence or lesser leave laws specifically. Any communications with the policy table will include the policy configured, unless otherwise excluded through client configuration. Clients may adapt current communication templates to suit their needs or create new ones.
Employer Coverage
Employers of any size must grant leave for an employee who is a victim of a qualifying act of violence to seek or obtain court relief (protective orders, injunctive relief) for themselves or their child.
Employers must employer 25 or more employees to meet the needs of other parameters of the law that fall under the 12 workweek entitlement.
Employee Eligibility
Employee is either a victim of family violence or a crime in which a qualifying act of violence occurred. For family violence, the employee must have a qualifying family member.
Qualifying Absence Reasons and Leave Duration
Employees are eligible for up to 12 weeks of leave in a 12-month period determined by the employer. If the employee is taking leave for a family member who is not deceased as a result of a qualifying act of violence, the employer may limit the time to 5 days for relocation purposes, and 10 days for purposes of counseling, safety planning, victim services through an organization, childcare needs, care of a family member due to injuries/medical attention needs, or court proceedings for a max of 15 days for a family member.
When an employee is seeking court relief for a qualifying act of violence for themselves or their child, there is no limit on the entitlement.
Safe Leave/Domestic Violence
Safe Leave: Seeking legal assistance (protective orders, meeting with law enforcement or attorney), securing housing, relocating, medical attention, counseling, providing or obtaining childcare, ensuring safety of a child or dependent adult, or other victim services for the employee or qualifying family members.
Managing within AbsenceSoft: Accommodations are better served in the accommodation module and are not intended to be part of this policy.
Qualifying Family Member
Child of any age(stepchild, legal ward, adopted/foster care, domestic partner’s child, in loco parentis)
Spouse/domestic partner
Parent(Parent-in-law, Domestic Partner’s Parent, Step Parent, Legal Guardian, Adopted/Foster Parent)
Sibling (halfsibling, stepsibling, adopted/foster sibling)
Grandparent or grandchild
Any other close association that can be seen as a family relationship
The family members noted above must not be deceased as a result of the situation, other leave laws may apply where a family member is deceased.
How Leave Can be Taken
Employees may take leave consecutively, intermittently, or reduced schedule for any qualifying reason.
Consecutive leave: A continuous, uninterrupted period of leave taken for a single qualifying reason.
Intermittent leave: Leave taken in separate, sometimes unpredictable, blocks of time (either hours, days or weeks) between the start and end dates of leave.
Reduced schedule: A reduction to the employees’ work schedule that results in either fewer hours per day or fewer days per week. A reduced schedule is consistent from one week to the next.
Certification Requirements
Employers can request documentation to support the leave request. The employee must return within a reasonable amount of time. While pending documentation any unexcused absences should not adversely affect the employee until a reasonable time has passed and no documentation has been provided.
Police report
Court order of protection
Evidence from court or attorney the employee has appeared in court
Documentation from a healthcare professional, counselor, victim advocate stating there was treatment or undergoing treatment for injuries or abuse relating to the crimes committed.
Recertification can be requested every 6 months by the employer for items pertaining to employers with 25 or more employees.
Managing in AbsenceSoft: There is no certification form or safety accommodation form currently in CORE paperwork offerings. Employers should consider if creation of a form is necessary for their organizations.
Pay and Benefits
Where state pay benefits are involved with other law interactions(sick pay), employers will want to consider where PTO/employer pay benefit application should occur.
Use of Paid Time Off (PTO)
Employees may use any accrued time available.
Job Protection
Employees should be returned to the same or equivalent position following their leave.
Other Protections
Employees taking leave under this law are entitled to confidentiality pertaining to the request and the documentation provided.
Employees who invoke their right to CADOM are protected from discrimination and retaliation. Employers are prohibited from denying leave or interfering with employee rights under CADOM.
Adverse employment action should not be taken against employees who have unexcused absences if the employee provides documentation within a reasonable time frame following the absence.
Benefits
Employers should consider benefits as other terms of employment that are protected under the law.
Interaction with Other Laws
Where an employee meets the definition of family member, qualifying absence reason, or serious health condition, the state and federal laws may interact. Accommodations that are not leave related, would not run concurrently with other state or federal leave laws.
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
CADOM may run concurrently with FMLA.
California Family Rights Act (CFRA)
CADOM may run concurrently with CFRA.
California Crime Victim Leave (CACVL)
CADOM may run concurrently with CACVL.
California State Disability Insurance (CASDI)
CASDI is for an employee’s health condition and administered by the state of California. Employees would need to contact the state on their claim.
California Paid Family Leave (CAPFL)
CAPFML is for the care of a family member and administered by the state of California. Employees would need to contact the state on their claim.
Accommodations
Employers should consider safety accommodations for the workplace when an employee requests. This may not fall under the Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA) as an employee must be deemed disabled to request accommodations. California law expressly calls out safety accommodations within the law and those should be considered.
Managing in AbsenceSoft:
Within AbsenceSoft, FML and other state laws may not appear in the policy table when domestic violence, criminal proceedings, or safe leave absence reasons are chosen. AbsenceSoft’s approach is to not have medical related leaves where ‘safe leave’ or ‘criminal proceedings’ are not defined in the law (e.g., FMLA) and vice versa where a law may discuss criminal proceedings and could be related to a safe leave event. Case managers should consider if the reason for leave applies as an employee health condition(EHC) or Family health condition(FHC) and open a case as EHC/FHC. Only one consecutive case can be opened for the same leave period.
Employee and Employer Responsibilities
Employee Responsibilities
Notify employer;
When supporting documentation is requested, comply with the request from the employer;
Provide the schedule of court proceedings(where applicable);
Participate in the accommodation process where applicable; and
Follow employer policies and procedures for time-off reporting
Employer Responsibilities
Post required notice in a conspicuous place at the worksite as well as provided in writing at time of hire, annually and when an employee requests leave for purposes that may be covered under the law. California has plans to add a new model notice in July 2025 - Absencesoft will continue to monitor for this to determine if it meets the default paperwork/attachment criteria.
Determine if additional documentation will be required other than court schedule;
Keep all records confidential;
Do not take adverse employment action for a reasonable period when unexcused absence may occur; and
Participate in the process for accommodations.
Resources
California Department of Labor Industries: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/howtofilelinkcodesections.htm
California Bill AB2499: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2499