California Senate Bill 1149 Expands Bereavement Leave Protections to Include an Employee’s “Designated Person”

California law requires most employers to provide eligible employees with up to five days of bereavement leave for qualifying family members. Recent legislation, which becomes effective January 1, 2027, amends that law to include a “designated person” in the definition of qualifying family members. Employees may identify the designated person for purposes of bereavement leave at the time they request leave and employers may limit employees to one designated person per 12-month period for this purpose.