In 2021, the California state legislature expanded the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) in many ways. The border between the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) continues to overlap and become grayer as CFRA expands.
What Is FMLA?
The Federal and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal labor law that ensures employers allow their employees to take leave time, unpaid, for family or medical related reasons and protect their job while they do so. Through FMLA, eligible employees are permitted to take unpaid leave of 12 weeks within a one-year period to provide care for a newborn child, provide care and support for a very sick family member, or to recover from a severe injury or serious illness.
What Is CFRA?
The California Family Rights Act (CFRA) is a piece of labor legislation that is only enforced in California. The CFRA is different from FMLA in several ways but is also incredibly similar. Like FMLA, the CFRA grants an employee the ability to take 12 weeks of leave for family or medical reasons and retain their job position. In California, the leave can either be paid or unpaid, depending on the employers. During CFRA, employees are also able to keep and utilize their medical and healthcare benefits from their employer. In addition, CFRA permits employees that are eligible to take leave to care for a larger number of qualified family members than FMLA does.
How Does an Employee Qualify for FMLA or CFRA?
To qualify for either FMLA or CFRA, an employed person needs a qualifying reason and have worked for the covered employer for 12 months. Additionally, they need to have worked 1,250 hours in the 12-month period preceding their first day of leave. Unlike CFRA, which covers employers with a minimum of five employees, FMLA has different coverage requirements. FMLA requires that the employer retains at least 50 employees and that 50 employees work within a 75-mile radius.
When a situation arises that an employee applies to take FMLA or CFRA to care for a family member’s injury or illness, the family member in question also must fit certain criteria. Both FMLA and CFRA consider the employee’s spouse, children, and parents to be qualifying family members. CFRA also covers the employee’s domestic partners or the child of a domestic partner, parent-in-laws, siblings, grandparents, and grandchildren.
Under FMLA, next of kin are able to be granted leave if it is to care for an individual who was injured while on duty as a member of the U.S. armed forces. For example, if your brother was seriously wounded while on active duty, you can be eligible to care for him while he recovers, although you are not a spouse, parent, or child.
How Do I Take FMLA?
When you need to take FMLA, you must provide your employer with an appropriate amount of time for your notice. If you know you will need recovery time in advance, you need to let your employer know ahead of time. The time to inform your employer should be at least 30 days before you want that leave to start.
If your reason to take leave is unexpected, for example, you are injured in an accident, you need to inform your employer as soon as reasonably possible that you will be taking FMLA. Your employer and/or the HR department at your workplace will be able to provide the necessary paperwork and instructions on how to take further steps. Until you get the FMLA process started or have notified your employer that you will be taking FMLA, you should follow your employer’s call-off or absence policies until your notice of leave has been submitted.
If you are taking FMLA for a medical reason, your employer may ask what your medical diagnosis is. Under federal law, it is legal for them to require you to disclose what your diagnosis is. However, under CFRA, it is not legal for your employer to ask you to disclose your specific diagnosis or medical reason for needing time off.
How Do I Take CFRA?
Taking CFRA follows the same basic steps as if you were going to take FMLA. You will need to inform your employer as soon as possible and contact them or the HR office for the necessary paperwork. They can walk you through the next steps you need to take.
Can I Take Both FMLA and CFRA?
Yes, but not at the same time. Taking FMLA and CFRA at the same time is called concurrent leave. If you are eligible, you are able to take 12 weeks of FMLA and then 12 weeks of CFRA. This would mean that you would be taking a total of 24 weeks of leave in a single year. Using FMLA and CFRA in tandem together is a great way to make sure that you have the time you need to spend bonding with a new child and properly care for yourself or a loved one during an illness or injury.
For example, an individual can take 12 weeks of FMLA for pregnancy disability and then an additional 12 weeks of CFRA to stay at home and care for their newborn child.
Many people need to take FMLA during very stressful and physically exhausting periods in their life. One of the easiest ways to gain the trust and loyalty of your employees is to give them the security of knowing that if they need to take FMLA or CFRA, they will still have the same job when they return to work.
Protect Your Business with Help From Fishman, Larsen & Callister
Working with a Fresno FMLA attorney to set up legal FMLA or CFRA terms can help ensure that you are following all of the laws to protect yourself from litigation and ensure that all of the benefits and rights of your employees are protected during their leave. A Fresno FMLA attorney for employers at the law offices of Fishman, Larsen & Callister has significant experience helping employers understand FMLA and CFRA laws in the Fresno area. Contact us today for more information.