Employers with 25 or more employees working at the same location must permit employees to take time off to participate in certain school or child care activities.1 Covered employees can take up to 40 hours each year for the specified school and child care activities.

An employer cannot terminate, or in any way discriminate against, a covered employee for taking the time off. An employer who violates this law may be required to rehire the employee and/or reimburse the employee for lost wages and work benefits. Willful failure to rehire can lead to a penalty of three times the amount of lost wages and work benefits.

Covered Employees

Employees who are the “parents” of children of the age to attend kindergarten through grade 12, or a licensed child care provider, are eligible for this protected leave:

“Parents” are specifically defined to include the following eligible employees:

• Parents
• Guardians
• Grandparents
• Stepparents
• Foster parents
• Persons standing in loco parentis to a child

Covered Activities and Guidelines

A covered employee can use the time off for the following reasons and under the following guidelines:

• To find, enroll, or re-enroll his or her child in a school or with a licensed child care provider;
• To participate in activities of the school or licensed child care provider;
• The time must not exceed 40 hours per year, nor eight hours in a calendar month; and
• The employee must give reasonable prior notice of the planned absence.

The employee can also use time off to address a “child care provider or school emergency.” There is not an eight hours per calendar month limitation on this emergency usage. The employee must give notice to the employer.

A child care provider or school emergency means that the employee’s child cannot remain in a school or with a child care provider due to one of the following:

• The school or child care provider has requested that the child be picked up, or has an attendance policy (excluding planned holidays) that prohibits the child from attending or requires the child to be picked up from the school or child care provider;
• Behavioral or discipline problems;
• Closure or unexpected unavailability of the school or child care provider, excluding planned holidays; or
• A natural disaster, including, but not limited to, fire, earthquake or flood.

If more than one parent is employed at the same worksite, you can limit the absence to the parent who first gave notice. You need not grant another parent employee a planned absence for a school activity. Another parent who is seeking simultaneous time off can be required to obtain your approval for the time off.

You can require the employee to first use existing vacation, PTO or other personal leave, unless prohibited by a collective bargaining agreement. The employee may also use time off without pay for this purpose, to the extent made available by the employer.

Notice and Documentation of Leave

The employee must give reasonable prior notice of the planned absence for school or child care activities or enrollment issues. If there is a child care provider or school emergency, the employee need only give “notice” to the employer; there is no reasonableness requirement because these are emergency situations.

An employee must provide, if you require it, documentation from the school or child care provider that they were engaged in the permitted child-related activities. Acceptable documentation includes any written verification of participation that the school or licensed child care provider deems appropriate and reasonable.

• School and Child Care Activities Leave Checklist

1. Lab. Code sec. 230.8