Just Who Are These "Designated" People?
By Stacey Sommerhauser, SPHR, PHRca, SHRM-SCP
Hopefully you’ve heard by now employers need to allow employees to designate a person to whom they may provide care for illnesses, serious health conditions or preventative care for under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) and CA Paid Sick Leave (PSL). But who can this designated person be? Can it be my roommate? Yes, it could. Can it be my second cousin once removed? Yes, it could. Can it be my UPS delivery person? Yes, it could. And where is the limit for Pete’s sake?
When the Governor signed AB 1041 earlier this year the list of family members who an employee may take protected leave to care for expanded, and can we say, drastically. I say drastically because a designated person could be any number of people as noted above. However, each employee’s family makeup could look different and this law allows employees to care for loved ones that may not have been possible prior to January 1, 2023.