If I have fewer than 25 employees, do I have to let my employee leave work if their child is suspended and pay them for an entire day?

School appearance leave applies to all employers, regardless of size.

Under California Labor Code section 230.7, an employer cannot in any way discriminate against an employee who takes time off to appear at school in conjunction with a child’s or ward’s suspension from a class or school.

As a result, you cannot stop your employee from leaving work to go to their child’s school, nor could you take disciplinary action against the employee for taking the time off.

The law does not require you to pay the employee for the time away from work, so on the day that the employee leaves early to go to their child’s school, you need to pay them only for the actual time they spent working in the office.

Read more about School Appearance and Activities Leave in the HR Library.