Bereavement leave · Family members
We’re sorry for your loss. Here is who California’s bereavement leave law covers today, who it doesn’t, and what changes on January 1, 2027.
The short answer
Today, California bereavement leave covers the death of your spouse, registered domestic partner, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild or parent-in-law. Stepparents, stepchildren, and foster and adoptive family count through the law’s definitions. Brothers- and sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends are not on the list. Starting January 1, 2027, SB 1149 adds a “designated person”: someone related to you by blood, or whose bond with you is the equivalent of family.
From the California labor lawyers at Employees First Labor Law, led by Jonathan P. LaCour, CEO · Senior Trial Counsel. Meet our team. Updated November 2026
California’s bereavement leave law, Government Code §12945.7, lets you take up to 5 days after a family member dies. As it reads through 2026, it defines family member as “a spouse or a child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, domestic partner, or parent-in-law as defined in Section 12945.2”.
That last phrase matters. Section 12945.2 is the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), and its definitions reach further than the everyday words. “Parent” includes a stepparent and someone who raised you. “Child” includes a stepchild and a foster child, at any age. So the list covers more people than it first seems.
The law applies at employers with 5 or more employees and at public employers, once you have worked there at least 30 days. For the full rules, see our California bereavement leave guide. For pay, see is bereavement leave paid.
These are the law’s own words, from CFRA’s definitions in Government Code §12945.2(b), which the bereavement law borrows.
§12945.2(b)(1)
The law says “child” means “a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, a child of a domestic partner, or a person to whom the employee stands in loco parentis.” In loco parentis means in the place of a parent. There is no age limit.
§12945.2(b)(11)
“Parent” means “a biological, foster, or adoptive parent, a parent-in-law, a stepparent, a legal guardian, or other person who stood in loco parentis to the employee when the employee was a child.” So an aunt or grandparent who raised you can count as a parent.
§12945.2(b)(14)
“Sibling” means “a person related to another person by blood, adoption, or affinity through a common legal or biological parent.” Half-siblings and adopted siblings count.
§12945.2(b)(8)–(9)
“Grandparent” means “a parent of the employee’s parent.” “Grandchild” means “a child of the employee’s child.”
§12945.2(b)(12)
“Parent-in-law” means “the parent of a spouse or domestic partner.” Your spouse’s or registered partner’s mother or father counts.
§12945.2(b)(3)
“Domestic partner” has “the same meaning as defined in Section 297 of the Family Code.” That means a partnership registered by filing a Declaration of Domestic Partnership with the California Secretary of State.
Find the person who died in the left column. The middle column is the law today. The right column is the law starting January 1, 2027.
| Person who died | Through 2026 | From Jan 1, 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse or registered domestic partner | Yes | Yes |
| Child of any age, including adopted, foster, step, a legal ward or your partner’s child | Yes | Yes |
| Parent, stepparent, foster or adoptive parent, legal guardian, or someone who raised you | Yes | Yes |
| Parent-in-law (your spouse’s or registered partner’s parent) | Yes | Yes |
| Brother or sister, including half and adopted siblings | Yes | Yes |
| Stepbrother or stepsister | Maybe (see “affinity” in the sibling definition) | Maybe; may also qualify as your designated person if your bond was the equivalent of family |
| Grandparent or grandchild | Yes | Yes |
| Great-grandparent, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew or cousin, by blood | No, unless they raised you or you raised them | Yes, as your designated person |
| Brother-in-law, sister-in-law, or your spouse’s grandparent | No | May qualify as your designated person if your bond was the equivalent of family |
| Partner you never registered, or a fiancé or fiancée | No | May qualify as your designated person if your bond was the equivalent of family |
| Close friend or chosen family | No | May qualify as your designated person if your bond was the equivalent of family |
“Designated person” comes with a limit: your employer may allow you only one in a 12-month period. The limit is written for designated persons only, so it doesn’t touch the family members already on the list. The 2027 text no longer names “parent-in-law” separately, but parents-in-law stay covered, because CFRA’s definition of “parent” includes a parent-in-law. Your employer can always be more generous. CRD’s FAQ notes that an employer may choose to allow bereavement leave after the death of another person you have a relationship with.
Answer a few yes-or-no questions about the person who died.
SB 1149 was approved by the Governor on September 27, 2026, as Chapter 679 of the Statutes of 2026. Starting January 1, 2027, it adds “a designated person” to the bereavement law’s definition of family member.
The bill defines a designated person as “any individual related to the employee by blood or whose association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship”. It adds: “This designated person may be identified by the employee at the time the employee requests the leave. An employer may limit an employee to one designated person per 12-month period for bereavement leave.”
For more on the change, read SB 1149 and chosen family.
Tap the one closest to yours.
Covered. A grandparent is “a parent of the employee’s parent.” If your grandparent raised you, they also count as a parent. Great-grandparents are not on today’s list, but from 2027 they can be your designated person.
Your spouse’s or registered domestic partner’s parent is covered. Other in-laws, such as a sister-in-law, a brother-in-law or your spouse’s grandparent, are not on today’s list. From January 1, 2027, one of them may qualify as your designated person if your bond was the equivalent of family.
Stepparents and stepchildren are named in the definitions. A stepbrother or stepsister may be covered as a sibling related “by affinity through a common legal or biological parent,” but the wording isn’t fully clear. From 2027, a stepsibling who was family to you can also be your designated person.
A registered domestic partner is covered. If you never registered with the Secretary of State, your partner isn’t a “domestic partner” under today’s law. From January 1, 2027, your partner may qualify as your designated person, because the law covers someone whose association with you is the equivalent of a family relationship.
If your baby was born alive and then died, that is the death of a child, and bereavement leave applies. After a stillbirth, the bereavement law doesn’t say whether a stillborn baby counts as a “child,” so that is an open question. Stillbirth is covered by reproductive loss leave, and the birth parent can take pregnancy leave to recover. See stillbirth leave or miscarriage leave.
Reproductive loss leaveFriends are not on today’s list. Starting January 1, 2027, a friend whose bond with you was the equivalent of family may qualify as your designated person, and your employer may limit you to one per 12 months. Until then, ask whether your employer’s policy covers it, or ask to use paid time off.
Yes. The law lists grandparents by name and defines a grandparent as a parent of your parent. Grandchildren are covered too. If your grandparent raised you, they also count as your parent. You can take up to 5 days, used within 3 months of the death, if your employer is covered and you have worked there at least 30 days.
Your parents-in-law, meaning your spouse’s or registered domestic partner’s parents, are covered. Other in-laws are not on today’s list, including a brother-in-law, a sister-in-law or your spouse’s grandparent. Starting January 1, 2027, one of them may qualify as your designated person if your bond was the equivalent of family.
Not under the state law before 2027, because a sister-in-law isn’t a “sibling” as the law defines it. Your employer’s policy may still allow it. From January 1, 2027, your sister-in-law may qualify as your designated person if your bond was the equivalent of a family relationship. Your employer may limit you to one designated person every 12 months.
Not today, unless an aunt or uncle raised you, in which case they can count as a parent. From January 1, 2027, an aunt, uncle, cousin, niece or nephew related to you by blood can be your designated person. You can name them when you ask for leave.
Yes. The law’s definition of “child” has no age limit. It includes biological, adopted and foster children, stepchildren, legal wards, your domestic partner’s children, and anyone you raised as a parent.
The law lets your employer ask for documentation of the death, such as a death certificate, a published obituary or a note from a funeral home, within 30 days of your first day of leave. It doesn’t mention proof of the relationship. Your employer must keep your request and documents to itself, sharing them only with people who need them or as the law requires.
This page gives general information about California law as of November 2026. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every situation is different; talk with a lawyer about yours.
Free case review
If your job, your leave or your pay was affected while you were grieving, you can talk with a lawyer at no cost. Free virtual consultations. Se habla español.
Prefer to write? Contact us. ¿Prefiere español? Empleados Primero
We work on contingency: our fee is a percentage of what we recover for you. How case costs are handled is spelled out in your written fee agreement.
Tell us what happened. Free virtual consultations, exclusively for workers, in English or Spanish.
