Question: With August approaching, many of my employees have children who go back to school soon. What are my legal obligations as an employer if an employee wants to take time off to go to a school-related activity for their child?
Answer: Employer obligations with respect to school-related leaves depend on the size of the company and the reason for the employee’s request.
In California, employers who employ 25 or more employees at the same location must allow eligible employees to take up to 40 hours of unpaid leave each year to participate in certain school or child care activities.
An employee is eligible for school or child-care activities if he or she is a parent, guardian, stepparent, foster parent, grandparent, or person who stands in place of a parent, to a child or children of kindergarten age or grades 1 to 12. If both parents are employed by the same employer at the same location, only the parent who first gave notice to the employer is entitled to take leave, but the other parent may also take leave with the employer’s approval.
Covered Activities
School-related activities include finding, enrolling, or reenrolling the child in a school or with a licensed child care provider or participating in activities of the school or licensed child care provider. An employee may also take leave to address a child care provider or school emergency. An “emergency” means that the employee’s child cannot remain in a school or with a child care provider due to any of the following: the school or child care provider has requested that the child be picked up or has an attendance policy that prohibits the child from attending or requires that the child be picked up; behavioral or discipline problems; unexpected closure or unavailability of the school or child care provider; or a natural disaster such as a fire, earthquake, or flood.
Notice Required
For planned absences, such as participating in school activities, employees must provide the employer with reasonable notice prior to the absence. Time off for planned absences must not exceed eight hours in any calendar month.
For absences related to a school emergency, employees must give notice as soon as possible, and the eight-hour limit for planned absences does not apply to school emergency situations.
Employees, if requested by the employer, must provide documentation from the school or child care provider as proof that the employee engaged in child-related activities. The documentation should be whatever written verification the school or child care provider deems appropriate and reasonable and must include the specific date and time of the activity.
Employees may use existing vacation, personal leave, or paid time off to participate in school-related leave unless otherwise provided by a collective bargaining agreement. However, the employee may also use unpaid time off for these absences.
Other Leaves Related to Disciplinary Action
In addition to allowing leave for school-related activities and emergencies, all employers—regardless of size—may need to provide unpaid time off to employees who need to attend a child’s suspension or expulsion meeting or to comply with a school’s suspension or expulsion requirements. Employees who take leave for these reasons must give their employer reasonable notice for the absence. Time off for this leave can be paid or unpaid.
Employers should contact their labor counsel if they have questions about leaves of absence related to school activities and appearances.