2025 Legislative Amendments Related to Time Off for Jury Duty, Court Appearances, and Victim-Involved Activities

Effective January 1, 2025, AB 2499 modifies existing law regarding jury duty, court appearances, and victim-involved time off and moves certain requirements from the Labor Code to the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), within the enforcement authority of the California Civil Rights Department (CRD, formerly known as the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing or DFEH). Among other things, the legislation moves away from crime and abuse terminology and refers instead to persons against whom “qualifying acts of violence” are committed, including but not limited to those involving domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and other conduct or patterns of conduct defined by the legislation

Employers must not discriminate or retaliate against employees for serving on a jury, for being called as a witness in court, or for taking time off work for certain purposes as victims to appear in court or obtain relief, including to obtain a restraining order.

Employers with 25 or more employees are prohibited from discharging or in any manner discriminating or retaliating against an employee who is a victim or who has a family member who is a victim of a qualifying act of violence for taking time off work for prescribed purposes.

A family member includes a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse or domestic partner, or designated person. A “designated person” means any individual related by blood or whose association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship. The designated person may be identified by the employee at the time the employee requests the leave, and the employer may limit the employee to one designated person per 12-month period for purposes of this leave.

Employers may limit the total leave taken for these purposes to: (1) 12 weeks if the employee is a victim; (2) 10 days if the employee is not a victim and the employee’s family member is the victim who is not deceased as a result of the crime; and (3) five days if the employee is not a victim, the employee’s family member is a victim who is not deceased as a result of the crime, and the leave is taken to relocate or engage in the process of securing a new residence (including securing temporary or permanent housing or enrolling children in a new school or childcare). Leave runs concurrently with leave taken pursuant to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) if the employee would have been eligible for that leave.

The legislation expands eligibility for reasonable accommodations to include employees who are a victim or whose family member is a victim of a qualifying act of violence for the safety of the employee while at work, and also expands California’s paid sick leave requirement to include the additional purposes for which the legislation prohibits an employer from discharging, or in any manner discriminating or retaliating against, the employee. Employees may use this, as well as vacation and other paid time off, for these purposes.

Employers must inform each employee of their rights under these laws upon hire, annually, at any time upon request, and any time an employee informs an employer that the employee or the employee’s family member is a victim. On or before July 1, 2025, CRD is required to develop and post a form for employers to use to comply with this requirement. The form will be entitled “Survivors of Violence and Family Members of Victims Right to Leave and Accommodations,” and will include notice of other rights and responsibilities. Employers are not required to inform employees of their rights under this legislation until CRD posts the Survivors of Violence and Family Members of Victims Right to Leave and Accommodations” form.

This legal update and any use of its information does not create an attorney-client relationship. Nothing contained on this website should be considered legal advice for any specific employer or employment situation. Consult legal counsel before taking any action as a result of information contained herein.