Los Angeles Municipal Code § 4.127 Allowance for Leave for Illness in Family

(a) Any employee who is absent from work by reason of the illness or injury of a member of the employee’s immediate family or, effective January 1, 2023, designated person and who has accrued sick leave at full pay shall, upon approval of the appointing authority or the agent thereof designated to determine such matter, be allowed leave of absence with full pay for not to exceed in the aggregate fifteen (15) working days (120 hours) in any one calendar year, provided such employee shall furnish a satisfactory doctor’s certificate or other suitable and satisfactory proof showing the nature and extent of the injury or illness to justify the absence. “Immediate family” shall include the father, father-in-law, mother, mother-in- law, brother, sister, spouse, child, foster child, grandparent, grandchild, step-parent, step-child of any employee of the City, the domestic partner of an employee, a household member (any person residing in the immediate household of the employee at the time of the illness or injury), and the following relatives of an employee’s domestic partner: child, grandchild, mother, and father. Any non-represented employee who claims a domestic partner for purposes of the provisions of this subsection shall complete a confidential affidavit to be filed in the Employee Benefits Office, Personnel Department, which shall be signed by the City employee and the domestic partner, declaring the existence of a domestic partnership with a named domestic partner. No affidavit is required to secure family illness benefits arising from the illness or injury of a household member. “Designated person”, in accordance with California Labor Code Section 245.5(c)(8), effective January 1, 2023, “means a person identified by the employee at the time the employee requests paid sick days.” Employees are limited to only one designated person per 12-month period. By extending to an employee the specific benefits defined in this subsection, the City does not intend to confer or to imply any other unspecified benefits to such employee, or to the employee’s domestic partner, or to the employee’s household members, or to any other person.

(b) Any non-represented employee shall be allowed leave of absence with full pay for up to an aggregate of fifteen (15) working days (120 hours) in any one calendar year for the provisions of Subsection (a) hereinabove, or for the purpose of adopting a child.

(c) The aggregate number of days of absence for which pay may be allowed under this section shall be included in the number of days for which sick leave with full pay is allowed under Section 4.126 of this Code. Effective January 1, 2020, non-represented employees shall be permitted to use 75% sick leave hours for family illness after exhausting all their available 100% sick leave hours.

SECTION HISTORY

Based on Ord. No. 89,100. Amended by: Ord. No. 123,623; Ord. No. 137,896; Ord. No. 140,780, Eff. 7-31-70; Ord. No. 155,667, Eff. 7-31-81, Oper. 7-1-81; In Entirety, Ord. No. 165,312, Eff. 1-6-90, Oper. 12-4-89; Ord. No. 168,238, Eff. 10-17-92, Oper. 9-16-92: In Entirety, Ord. No. 170,101, Eff. 11-17-94, Oper. 7-1-94; Subsec. (a), first sentence, Ord. No. 170,864, Eff. 1-22-96, Oper. 1-22-96; Subsec. (a), Ord. No. 171,780, Eff. 11-17-97, Oper. 11-23-97; Subsec. (b), Ord. No. 185,365, Eff. 12-27-17; In Entirety, Ord. No. 186,346, Eff. 11-3-19; Subsec. (a), Ord. No. 187,932, Eff. 7-7-23.

(a) Except as otherwise provided by Memorandum of Understanding and implemented by the City Council, in addition to all other sick leave allowed under this article, any employee who is absent from work by reason of the death of a member of the employee’s immediate family shall, upon the approval of the appointing authority or the agent thereof designated to determine such matters, be allowed leave of absence with full pay for a maximum of three working days for each occurrence of a death in the employee’s immediate family. Such employee shall furnish a death certificate or other satisfactory proof of the death to justify the absence. “Immediate family” shall include the father, father-in-law, mother, mother-in-law, brother, sister, spouse, child, grandparents, grandchildren, step-parents, step-children, foster parents, foster children, a domestic partner, any relative who resided in the employee’s household, a household member (any person residing in the immediate household of the employee at the time of death), and the following relatives of an employee’s domestic partner: child, grandchild, mother, father. For the purpose of this section, simultaneous, multiple family deaths will be considered as one occurrence.

(b) Any non-represented employee who claims a domestic partner for purposes of the provisions of Subsection (a) hereinabove, shall complete a confidential affidavit to be filed in the Employee Benefits Office, Personnel Department, which shall be signed by the City employee and the domestic partner, declaring the existence of a domestic partnership with a named domestic partner. No affidavit is required to secure bereavement leave benefits arising from the death of a household member (any person residing in the immediate household of the employee at the time of death). (c) Intermittent employees, as defined by Section 4.110(b) of this Code, shall not be entitled to compensated leave because of family deaths.

(d) In addition to the bereavement leave granted under this section, upon approval of the appointing authority, any employee who has accrued unused sick leave at full pay shall be allowed sick leave with full pay not to exceed two working days per occurrence for the purpose of bereavement leave if it is necessary for the employee to travel a minimum of 1,500 miles one way, as calculated by the Automobile Association of America (AAA). Employees requesting the use of sick leave under this provision shall furnish satisfactory proof to the appointing authority of the distance traveled. Use of sick leave hours for bereavement leave shall not be counted as sick leave in any department Sick Leave Use Monitoring Program. This provision expires on January 1, 2023, and is replaced by the following provision:

Effective January 1, 2023, in addition to the bereavement leave granted under this Section, non- represented employees shall be entitled to use an additional two days either unpaid, or paid using accrued unused sick leave, vacation, personal leave, or compensatory time off, at the employee’s discretion for the death of an immediate family member as defined in Subsection (a) hereinabove. Use of sick leave hours for bereavement leave shall not be counted as sick leave in any department Sick Leave Use Monitoring Program.

(e) Commencing July 1, 2012, non-represented employees shall be entitled to use the bereavement leave granted under this section up until 370 calendar days from the date of the death of the qualifying immediate family member. Bereavement leave not used prior to 370 calendar days from the date of said death shall be deemed waived and lost.

SECTION HISTORY

Based on Ord. No. 89,100. Amended by: Ord. No. 137,896; Ord. No.140,780, Eff. 7-31-70; Ord. No. 153,343, Eff. 7-1-80, Oper. 7-1-80; Ord. No. 165,482, Eff. 2-1-90; Ord. No. 168,238, Eff. 10-17-92, Oper. 9-16-92; In Entirety, Ord. No. 170,101, Eff. 11-17-94, Oper. 7-1-94; Subsec. (d), Ord. No. 175,048, Eff. 1-23-03; Subsec. (e) added, Ord. No. 182,210, Eff. 8-10-12; Subsec. (b), Ord. No. 184,260, Eff. 5-5-16; Subsec. (d), Ord. No. 187,820, Eff. 5-12-23.

(a) Effective January 1, 2024, in compliance with California Government Code Section 12945.6, employees who have been employed for at least 30 calendar days may take up to five (5) days of leave for reproductive loss within three (3) months following a reproductive loss event, as defined below. Said leave shall be taken on assigned work days using the number of hours the employee is usually scheduled to work on those days. Employees shall be allowed to take consecutive or non-consecutive days off. Employees may use unpaid leave, accrued unused sick leave, accrued unused vacation time, or accrued compensatory time off, or any combination thereof for their reproductive loss leave. In the event of an employee experiencing multiple reproductive loss events exceeding four events within a 12-month period, the amount of aggregate time off granted shall not exceed twenty (20) days within a 12-month period.

1. “Reproductive loss event” means the day or, for a multiple-day event, the final day of a failed adoption, failed surrogacy,

miscarriage, stillbirth, or an unsuccessful assisted reproduction, defined as follows:

A. “Failed adoption” - the dissolution or breach of an adoption agreement with the birth mother or legal guardian, or an adoption that is not finalized because it is contested by another party. This event applies to an employee who would have been a parent of the adoptee if the adoption had been completed.

B. “Failed surrogacy” - the dissolution or breach of a surrogacy agreement, or a failed embryo transfer to the surrogate. This event applies to an employee who would have been a parent of a child born as a result of the surrogacy.

C. “Miscarriage” - a miscarriage by an employee, by the employee’s current spouse or domestic partner, or by another individual if the employee would have been a parent of a child born as a result of the pregnancy that ended in miscarriage.

D. “Stillbirth” - a stillbirth resulting from an employee’s pregnancy, the pregnancy of the employee’s current spouse or domestic partner, or another individual, if the employee would have been a parent of a child born as a result of the pregnancy that ended in stillbirth.

E. “Unsuccessful assisted reproduction” - an unsuccessful round of intrauterine insemination or embryo transfer, which

includes gamete and embryo donation, or of an assisted reproductive technology procedure. This event applies to an employee, the employee’s current spouse or domestic partner, or another individual, if the employee would have been a parent of a child born as a result of the pregnancy that was unsuccessful.

(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a) above, when employees are on Family and Medical Leave pursuant to Section 4.129 of this Code or a Memorandum of Understanding, or any other leave entitlement under State or federal law, either prior to or immediately following a reproductive loss event, employees shall complete their reproductive loss leave within three months after the end date of the other leave.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 188,239, Eff. 5-17-24.