by Gail Cohen, Esq. - Assistant General Counsel
October 09, 2019
As our faithful readers know, we at Matrix Radar monitor state leave and accommodation law developments. We have noticed that, in addition to the proliferation of state paid family leave laws, state legislatures have primarily focused on organ donation, leave for victims of domestic violence, and pregnancy accommodations.
Recently, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an amendment to the Michelle Maykin Memorial Donation Protection Act to afford 
California employees who have worked at least 90 days an additional leave of absence for the purpose of organ donation. Currently, that Act requires private employers to give employees up to 30 business days of paid leave for organ donation and up to 5 business days of paid leave for bone marrow donation in a one-year period. Employers can require employees to first take up to two weeks of accrued paid leave for organ donation and up to five days of accrued paid leave for bone marrow donation.
Effective January 1, 2020, the amendment (Assembly Bill 1223) will require private employers with 15 or more employees to give eligible employees an additional 30 business days of unpaid leave in a one-year period (measured from the date the employee’s leave begins over the continuing 12 months) for the purpose of donating an organ to another person.
The amendment retains the requirement that the employee provide written verification that he or she is an organ donor and that there is a medical necessity for the organ donation. Time spent by employees on leave under the Act as amended does not constitute a break in service and employers are required to maintain and pay for health insurance coverage on the same terms as prior to the leave.
California organ and bone marrow donation leave runs concurrently with leave under FMLA but NOT under the California Family Rights Act.
We have previously blogged about other states with organ and bone marrow donation leave laws. To read more about those laws, please see below:
- Wisconsin and Summary of State Laws in Effect as of June 2016
- Colorado Living Donor Leave Act
- Amendment to NY PFL for Organ Donation as a Leave Reason
Matrix can help!
At Matrix we monitor state and federal legislative developments daily and report on any new or advancing leave- and accommodation-related laws to keep our clients and business partners up to date. If you ever have questions about leave and accommodation laws – current or just introduced! – please contact your account manager or send an email to ping@matrixcos.com.