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As of this year, most private employers in California are required to permit employees to take paid leaves of absence for organ and bone marrow donation.
Under the Michelle Maykin Memorial Donation Protection Act, companies that employ 15 or more employees must provide up to 30 days of paid leave for an organ donation and up to five days of paid leave for a bone marrow donation. However, as a condition of an employee's initial receipt of bone marrow or organ donation leave, employers may require that an employee take earned but unused sick or vacation leave (up to five days for bone marrow donation and up to two weeks for organ donation), unless doing so would violate the provisions of any applicable collective bargaining agreement.
Under the new law, employees returning from organ or bone marrow donation leave must be returned to the same, or an equivalent, position. However, an employer may decline to restore an employee because of conditions unrelated to the employee's donation leave.
The law also prohibits covered employers from interfering with employees who take organ or bone marrow donation leaves. Employers may not retaliate against employees for taking a leave or for opposing an unlawful employment practice related to the leave. The law also creates a private right of action for aggrieved employees to seek enforcement of its provisions.
Organ or bone marrow donation leave is separate from, and does not run concurrently with, leave taken pursuant to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or the California Family Rights Act (CFRA). Therefore, an employee who suffers medical complications and needs more leave than allotted under this state law may be entitled to additional unpaid leave under the FMLA and/or CFRA.
The Bottom Line
Under this new California law, employers must provide paid leaves of absence for organ and bone marrow donations and covered California employers should update their policies to provide for these new leave entitlements.
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