On March 6, 2023, UPE and Merced County met to discuss two recently enacted Assembly Bills: AB 1949 and AB 1041. AB 1949 provides up to five (5) days of bereavement leave for employees who have been employed at least 30 days before the leave commences. Bereavement leave may be taken for the death of the following family members: spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, domestic partner, or parent-in-law. Employers with existing bereavement leave policies, such as Merced County, that provide less than five (5) days of paid bereavement leave must continue to give employees the number of paid days employees are entitled to under their bereavement policies.
The remainder of the five (5) days of bereavement leave may be unpaid, but employers must allow employees to use any paid vacation, personal leave, accrued and available sick leave, or compensatory time off that is otherwise available to the employee for the unpaid time. Additionally, Merced County committed to working with employees if additional unpaid time is requested.
AB 1041 expands the group of people an employee may take CFRA for to include a “designated person.” A designated person means any individual related by blood or whose association with the employee is equivalent to a family relationship. The employee identifies the designated person at the time leave is requested. Employees are limited to one designated person per 12-month period for CFRA Leave.
AB 1041 also expands the “family member” definition under AB 1522 Paid Sick Leave to include a designated person. The employee identifies designated person at the time sick leave is requested. Employees are limited to one designated person per 12-month period.
The Merced County Human Resources Rules and Regulations have been updated. The changes will go to the Board of Supervisors on March 28, 2023; however, the law is effective now.
Thank you to our Unit 3 Board Chair, Marcy Gallardo, for her advocacy on this matter.