Jan. 17, 2019, marks the fourth day of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) teachers’ strike. For now, the nation’s second largest school district is using substitute teachers to keep classrooms open on a regular schedule for the hundreds of thousands of elementary, middle, and high-school students LAUSD serves, though as discussed below, certain programs for younger children have been suspended.

The strike, which includes not only teachers but also other school staff such as nurses, librarians, and counselors, raises serious questions for parents: Should they send their children to thinly staffed schools or keep them home? How long will the strike last? How long can the current arrangement continue? What can they do if they’re scheduled to work but have a young child whose early education program is closed, or an older child with medical or special needs? It also raises questions for employers.

If your business employs anyone with young and school-age children (or even grandchildren), you already may have started fielding questions from parents about time off to find care or supervision for them during the strike. What you may not have realized is that, depending on the size of your business, California’s child-related activities leave law may enable some of your employees to take job-protected time off – up to 40 hours per year – to deal with school and child care-related issues. Cal. Lab. Code § 230.8. This GT Alert provides a brief overview of the obligations employers may have under this law to provide time off for parents and grandparents of young and school-age children or grandchildren.

To read the full GT Alert, click here.

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Photo of Ryan C. Bykerk Ryan C. Bykerk

Ryan C. Bykerk focuses his practice on helping clients develop strategies that meet their case-specific and larger business objectives, and has broad litigation experience in both federal and state court. His practice primarily involves defending employers in wage and hour class / representative…

Ryan C. Bykerk focuses his practice on helping clients develop strategies that meet their case-specific and larger business objectives, and has broad litigation experience in both federal and state court. His practice primarily involves defending employers in wage and hour class / representative actions and individual actions asserting violations of federal and state employment law, but extends to general, commercial, and financial litigation.

As a co-host of The Performance Review, a Greenberg Traurig Podcast about California Labor and Employment Law, Ryan offers insight and discusses the latest trends and developments in California Labor & Employment law.

Photo of Ellen M. Bandel Ellen M. Bandel

Ellen M. Bandel is a member of the Labor and Employment practice, advising unionized and union-free employers on all aspects of labor and employment law. Specifically, Ellen counsels employers on a range of workplace issues including recruitment; development of handbooks and employment policies…

Ellen M. Bandel is a member of the Labor and Employment practice, advising unionized and union-free employers on all aspects of labor and employment law. Specifically, Ellen counsels employers on a range of workplace issues including recruitment; development of handbooks and employment policies; employee performance and discipline; administering paid and unpaid time off policies and leaves of absence; compliance with wage and hour and disability accommodation laws; proper handling of employee complaints; workplace audits and investigations; workforce reductions; and mitigating risk associated with employee terminations. Ellen has wide-ranging experience advising employers on compliance with employment legislation “trending” at the state and local level, including paid sick leave laws, legalization of medical and recreational marijuana, pre-employment restrictions relating to use of criminal history or prior salary information, predictable work schedule requirements, and paid medical leaves.

Ellen also represents clients in federal, state, and local administrative proceedings. Additionally, she assists government contractors subject to requirements of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs’ (OFCCP) with the design and implementation of affirmative action programs and navigating the compliance review process.