SB 1149 (2026): Employees Designate One Person as Family for Bereavement Leave

Authority

Cal. Legislature

Citation

Stats. 2026, ch.

Effective Date

January 1, 2027

Senate Bill 1149, introduced by Senator Durazo, amends the state’s bereavement leave statute to broaden who counts as a “family member.” The bill adds a “designated person” identified by the employee to that definition and lets an employer limit an employee to one designated person per 12-month period. As an ordinary statute, it takes effect January 1, 2027.

Background

Existing law, Government Code section 12945.7, makes it an unlawful employment practice for a covered employer to refuse an employee’s request for up to five days of bereavement leave upon the death of a family member. It also bars employers from discharging, disciplining, or otherwise discriminating against an individual for exercising bereavement leave rights or giving related information or testimony.

Before this amendment, section 12945.7 defined “family member” to mean a spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or domestic partner. The statute applies to employers with five or more employees, and to the state and its political subdivisions, and it covers employees who have worked at least 30 days before the leave begins.

What the Law Changes

SB 1149 adds a “designated person” to the definition of “family member” in section 12945.7. A designated person is any individual related to the employee by blood or whose association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship. The employee may identify that person at the time the employee requests the leave.

The amendment also authorizes an employer to limit an employee to one designated person per 12-month period for bereavement leave. The rest of the section’s framework is unchanged: up to five days of leave, which need not be consecutive, completed within three months of the death, paid or unpaid according to the employer’s existing policy, with documentation available on request.

Scope and Exceptions

The statute continues to reach employers with five or more employees and public employers, and it excludes employees covered by section 19859.3. It also does not apply to employees under a qualifying collective bargaining agreement that provides equivalent bereavement leave, addresses wages, hours, and working conditions, and pays a regular hourly rate at least 30 percent above the state minimum wage.

Employers must keep leave requests and any supporting documentation confidential, disclosing them only to internal personnel or counsel as necessary or as required by law. The right to leave under section 12945.7 remains separate and distinct from leave under the California Family Rights Act in section 12945.2.