Domestic Violence Leave in California: Eligibility and Notice

If you experience domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking in California, you have the right to take protected time off work to go to court, get medical care, attend counseling, access shelter services, and plan for your safety, and your employer cannot fire or punish you for using that right. Two statutes carry most of the weight: Labor Code Section 230, which applies to every employer in the state, and Labor Code Section 230.1, which adds broader leave rights when your employer has 25 or more employees. Domestic violence leave in California also comes with anti-retaliation protection, confidentiality, and a separate right to reasonable workplace safety accommodations.

Who Qualifies as a Victim

The law reaches further than many people assume. Under Labor Code Section 230, a “victim” includes anyone who has experienced stalking, domestic violence, or sexual assault, and anyone who suffered a crime that caused physical injury or mental injury with a threat of physical injury.¹ It also covers someone whose immediate family member died as a direct result of a crime. If the victim is your spouse, child, parent, or other immediate family member rather than you, you still qualify for leave to help them.

What You Can Take Leave For

Every California employer, no matter how small, must allow protected time off so a qualifying employee can obtain a restraining order or other court relief to protect the health and safety of themselves or their child, or to appear in court under a subpoena or court order related to the crime.¹

If your employer has 25 or more employees, you can also take leave for:²

Medical treatment for injuries caused by the violence
Services from a domestic violence shelter, rape crisis center, or victim services organization
Counseling or therapy related to the violence
Safety planning, including temporary or permanent relocation

Section 230 does not set a specific cap on hours or days for court-related leave. Section 230.1 states that it does not create a right to unpaid leave beyond what the federal Family and Medical Leave Act allows, which in practice means up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period for FMLA-eligible employees at covered workplaces.²

Is the Leave Paid

The leave itself is unpaid. You will not receive a regular paycheck simply for being on domestic violence leave. You can, however, choose to use accrued paid sick leave, vacation, personal leave, or compensatory time to cover the absence.³ If you have none available, you still have the right to take the time off.

California’s paid sick leave law specifically lists domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking as qualifying reasons to use accrued sick days. For any employer, that includes court proceedings and restraining orders. At workplaces with 25 or more employees, it also includes medical treatment, counseling, shelter services, safety planning, and relocation tied to the violence.⁴ Your employer cannot refuse to let you use accrued sick days for these purposes.

Notice and Documentation

Give your employer reasonable advance notice when you can. When an emergency makes that impossible, tell your employer as soon as you reasonably can afterward.¹

Your employer cannot discipline you for an unscheduled absence as long as you provide certification within a reasonable time. Any of the following works:¹

A police report showing you were a victim
A court order protecting you, or other court or prosecutor documentation showing you appeared in court
Documentation from a medical professional, domestic violence counselor, sexual assault counselor, victim advocate, or other licensed provider showing you were receiving treatment or services
A written statement signed by you, or by someone on your behalf, certifying that the absence was for an authorized purpose

That last option matters. If you have not filed a police report or obtained a court order, a signed personal statement is enough. You do not need to have engaged the legal system for your leave to be protected.

Confidentiality

Your employer must keep your leave request and any documentation you provide confidential.¹ Coworkers do not get to know.³ The only exceptions are disclosures required by federal or state law and disclosures necessary to protect your safety at work, and even then your employer must notify you first.

Workplace Safety Accommodations

Time off is only part of the protection. Under Government Code Section 12945.8, your employer must also provide reasonable accommodations for your safety at work when you ask for them. This is the piece most people never learn about, and it can be the difference between staying employed and feeling forced to leave.

Reasonable accommodations can include:

A transfer or reassignment to a different location
A modified work schedule
A changed work phone number or workstation
Permission to carry your personal phone at work
A lock installed on your office or workspace
A workplace safety procedure
Help documenting violence that occurs at or near the workplace

Your employer must engage in a good-faith interactive process to figure out what accommodation works, and should consider whether your situation is urgent or dangerous. An employer can decline only if the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on operations or create a safety risk for other employees.⁵ To request an accommodation you do need to disclose your status as a victim, and the employer can ask for written certification that the accommodation is for an authorized purpose.

Retaliation and How to Fight It

Your employer cannot fire, demote, suspend, or otherwise punish you for taking protected leave or requesting an accommodation. The anti-retaliation rule covers any adverse change to your pay, position, benefits, or working conditions tied to your exercise of these rights.²

If your employer retaliates, you are entitled to reinstatement, reimbursement for lost wages and benefits, and other appropriate equitable relief.²

To pursue a claim, file a retaliation complaint with the California Labor Commissioner’s Office, also known as the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. You can submit it online or mail it to the nearest Labor Commissioner location.⁶ For violations of Labor Code Sections 230 and 230.1, you have one year from the date of the retaliatory action to file.⁷ A year passes quickly when you are dealing with the aftermath of violence, so file as early as you can.

How Federal Law Fits In

California’s protections work alongside federal law rather than replacing it. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act does not specifically cover domestic violence, but physical injuries or mental health conditions caused by domestic violence can qualify as a “serious health condition” under FMLA if they involve inpatient care or continuing treatment by a health care provider. If you meet that threshold and work for an FMLA-covered employer (50 or more employees within 75 miles), you may be eligible for up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave under federal law on top of California’s protections. FMLA also requires your employer to maintain your health insurance during leave, which California’s domestic violence leave statutes do not specifically address. Where both laws apply, you get the stronger protection on each point.

Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act adds another layer. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued guidance stating that treating employees differently because they are domestic violence survivors can violate Title VII when it is rooted in sex-based stereotypes.⁸ Title VII applies nationwide to employers with 15 or more employees, so it can offer a federal claim in situations where California’s employer-size thresholds leave gaps.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 230 – General Occupations
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California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 230.1 – Employment of Victims of Crime or Abuse
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Department of Industrial Relations. Victims of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking Notice
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Department of Industrial Relations. California Paid Sick Leave Frequently Asked Questions
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LegiScan. California AB406 – Chaptered
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Labor Commissioner’s Office. How to File a Retaliation or Discrimination Complaint
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Department of Industrial Relations. Filing a Retaliation Complaint
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U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Questions and Answers: The Application of Title VII and the ADA to Applicants or Employees Who Experience Domestic or Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking