Is bereavement leave mandatory in California?

Before 2023 California had no general bereavement entitlement, and most small employers handled a death in the family as a matter of decency and available paid time off. That is no longer a discretionary kindness — it is a statutory leave with a defined family list and a defined length.

The entitlement is up to five days per death. The days need not be consecutive, but must be completed within three months of the death. The employer may require documentation, and must keep it confidential.

The leave may be unpaid — but an employee is entitled to use accrued paid leave they already hold, which in practice means most bereavement leave is paid out of an existing bank. What the employer may not do is refuse the time, or treat taking it as an occurrence under an attendance policy.

The list of covered relatives is worth reading rather than assuming, because it is broader than the one most handbooks carry: it includes grandparents, grandchildren, domestic partners and parents-in-law. A policy written before 2023 almost certainly stops short of that list, and a policy is what an employee is shown when they ask.