California CRD Publishes Notice on Rights for Violence Survivors

On July 1, the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) published a “Survivors of Violence and Family Members of Victims Right to Leave and Accommodations” notice. The CRD also published FAQ regarding the notice requirements. Both documents are available on the CRD website. Employers must provide the notice to workers when hired, annually, and upon request.

Guidance for Employers

Assembly Bill (AB) 2499, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed in September 2024, expressly required the CRD to publish such a notice by July 1, 2025.

The notice and guidance explain that California law allows employees to take time off for certain reasons relating to their or their family members’ experience with qualifying acts of violence, as California law defines them. These reasons include taking time off to attend administrative and court proceedings or to care for a family member recovering from injuries caused by violence. 

Employers have similar responsibilities in addressing workplace accommodation requests related to qualifying acts of violence as they do when employees request disability-related reasonable accommodations. Examples of such violence-related accommodations include changing an employee’s work phone number, letting the employee carry a phone at work, and modifying the employee’s work schedule.

Employers must engage in the interactive process with employees and must consider whether the employee or family member is facing immediate danger. The guidance also explains that employers must consider whether the accommodation would make the workplace unsafe for other employees or would cause undue hardship for the employer.

The CRD notice and FAQ also emphasize that employers must keep covered leave requests and documentation relating to experiencing a qualifying act of violence confidential, except when the employer must respond to a court order or subpoena or when the employer must disclose information to protect an employee’s safety at work. The employer must provide notice to the employee before disclosing any information related to the employee or the employee’s family member.

Next Steps 

California employers may wish to consider incorporating reasonable accommodation processes into their workplace violence policies, reasonable accommodation policies, or both. Employers also may wish to consider training HR and managers about the CRD’s new notice and FAQ.

Policy: Workplace Violence