On October 1, 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 406 to expand the reasons employees can take leave under California’s Healthy Workplaces Healthy Families Act (HWHFA), the statewide paid sick and safe time law, and under California Government Code section 12945.8, which provides job-protected unpaid leave for various reasons. This year’s amendments come only one year and a day after these two laws were last amended.
Expanded Paid Sick and Safe Time and Unpaid Leave Covered Uses: The reasons an employee can use job-protected paid sick and safe time under the HWHFA have always, in part, been connected to reasons an employee could use unpaid leave under a different law. Since January 1, 2025, the HWHFA has incorporated by reference certain covered uses under California Government Code section 12945.8, a job-protected unpaid leave law.
Last year’s amendments expanded the “safe” time reasons under both laws to include crime victim leave, allowed leave to be used when not just an employee but also a family member was a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking (and crime), and added new reasons connected to victim status for which leave could be used. These are covered uses under California Government Code section 12945.8(a)(3) and (b), which the HWHFA incorporates.
This year’s amendments amend both laws, effective January 1, 2026, to allow employees to use leave if they or a family member are a victim of certain crimes and are attending judicial proceedings...
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