Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

Effective January 1, 2020, organ donors in California are entitled to an additional 30 business days of unpaid leave.  AB 1223 extends the maximum leave time available to employees who participate in an organ donation program.  This law applies to private employers with 15 or more employees.

Prior to the passage of AB 1223, Labor Code 1510(a)(1) provides that an employer shall grant to an employee a paid leave of absence for a maximum of 30 business days in a one-year period for the purpose of donating the employee’s organ to another person.  The employee must show verification of participating in an organ donor program and that there is medical necessity for donation of the organ.

The employee’s leave shall not run concurrent to job-protected leave take pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or the Moore-Brown-Roberti Family Rights Act (CFRA).  The employee’s leave of absence is not a break in the employee’s continuous service for the purpose of seniority, paid time off, sick leave, vacation, or right to salary adjustment.  However, the employer may require that the employee take up to two weeks of earned but unused sick leave, vacation, or paid time off.

AB 1223 adds subsection (b) to Labor Code 1510 mandating that an employer shall grant an additional 30 business days of unpaid leave to organ donors.  The leave may be taken in one or more periods in a calendar year, starting with the date the employee’s leave begins.

California’s law regarding paid leave for bone marrow donation remains unchanged.  Employers shall grant five business days of paid leave to employees who donate bone marrow.