Question: My employee has used up all their vacation and sick leave, but now they need to take a day off to take their child to juvenile court. It’s always something with this employee and they use up their sick days as soon as they earn them. We don’t excuse people who miss work because they’re in jail, so do we have to let this employee attend court with their kid?
Answer: You might have to excuse this absence or similar time off to deal with a child’s legal or disciplinary issues, depending on the laws in the location where the employee works. For example, Oregon law prohibits employers from discharging or retaliating against parents or guardians who are summoned to appear in juvenile court in certain circumstances (ORS 419C.306). Trouble at school can result in protected leave time in California, where employers must allow parents and guardians to attend their child’s school disciplinary meetings (Cal Labor Code 230.7).
Many states, and some municipalities, have job protections that apply in unusual circumstances that can require employers to provide leave or excuse time off. For example, Oregon employees have the right to take time off to serve on an Oregon state board or commission when appointed by the governor (ORS 659A.314), and Washington’s law providing for firefighter leave also has a provision that protects “civil air patrol members” when they need leave for a variety of situations including “counterdrug missions” (RCW 49.12.460).
Your leave policies should cover the major protected leaves available to your employees, but it’s impossible to cover every single eventuality. Talk to your Vigilant Law Group employment attorney before denying leave or disciplining employees for taking time off in unusual circumstances.
