Organ and Bone Marrow Donation Leave

What Are Organ and Bone Marrow Donation Leaves?

The state of California has some of the most generous and protective leave laws in the country. Under these laws, California employees have the right to take job-protected time off work for a variety of qualifying family and medical or personal reasons, with certain limitations. For instance, under California’s organ and bone marrow donation leave law, covered employers in California must provide eligible employees with paid, job-protected leave to donate an organ or bone marrow to another person.

How Organ and Bone Marrow Donation Leave Laws Protect Employees

If you are eligible for organ or bone marrow donation leave and your employer refuses to grant the protected leave of absence, or if you have been wrongfully terminated or otherwise discriminated against for requesting or taking leave, you may have grounds to file a lawsuit against your employer. Contact our skilled California employment law attorney at Davtyan Law Firm today to discuss your legal rights.

California Organ Donation Leave Rights

California’s organ and bone marrow donation leave law went into effect in January 2011, and the purpose of the law was to encourage employees to save lives by providing them with generous leave options. Under California Labor Code, eligible employees in California are entitled to paid time off work to serve as organ donors or to donate bone marrow. Additionally, as a result of an employee requesting or taking protected organ or bone marrow donation leave, California employers are prohibited from:

• Wrongfully terminating
• Intimidating
• Demoting
• Harassing
• Threatening
• Wrongfully failing to promote
• Punishing
• Discriminating against
• Retaliating against
• Taking any other adverse employment action against the employee.

Organ and Bone Marrow Leave Requirements in CA

California law requires that employers with 15 or more employees provide employees with up to 30 business days of leave during any one-year period to donate an organ, as well as up to five business days during any one-year period to donate bone marrow. Organ and bone marrow donation leave in California is only available to an eligible employee when he or she has worked for the employer for at least 90 days and, unlike most other leave laws in California, this type of leave must be paid.

However, an employer may require an employee taking leave to use up to two weeks of accrued sick leave, vacation time or other paid time off during the initial organ and bone marrow donation leave, and up to five days of accrued sick leave, vacation time or other paid time off during the initial bone marrow donation leave.

Our CA Employment Law Attorneys Can Help

California employees have certain important protections under state and federal law, and employers in California are required to comply with these laws or face serious legal consequences. For instance, any employee whose employer violates California leave laws by preventing an eligible employee from taking leave to donate an organ or bone marrow, or by wrongfully terminating the employee for requesting or taking a protected leave of absence, may be able to file a civil lawsuit for reinstatement and lost wages and benefits.

For more information about your right to organ and bone marrow donation leave as a California employee, or to discuss with a California employment law attorney the possibility of filing a leave law violation lawsuit against your employer, contact Davtyan Law Firm as soon as possible.