As an employer, you have a lot to consider when it comes to your employees and the laws you must follow. The state and federal governments include a significant amount of legislature to protect both employees and employers from predatory or illegal behavior.
The California Family Rights Act (CFRA) is a state law that allows employees to take time off work for specified family or medical issues. This is the California state equivalent of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which is a federal program.
Unfortunately, employees do not always know and follow the law when it comes to the CFRA. Many people do not understand the proper protocol that comes with these laws and try to take leave when they have no right to do so. In some cases, employees try to press charges against employers for denying their CFRA leave, even when the employer was within their rights to do so.
If you are an employer in California, it is important for you to be well-versed in the minutiae of CFRA. This will protect you from fraudulent claims and ensure you are following the law when legitimate CFRA claims come forward.
What Qualifies for a CFRA Claim?
Employees may take time off work under CFRA for very specific reasons. These reasons include:
- A personal, serious medical condition
- To care for a family member with a serious medical condition
- The birth of a child
- The addition of a foster or adoptive child to their family
While some of these, such as the birth of a child, are straightforward and verifiable, others are more abstract. It can be difficult to determine what a “serious medical condition” is and when you must approve a CFRA leave.
What Is a Serious Health Condition Under CFRA?
Rather than listing all conditions and illnesses that qualify for CFRA, the state government outlined criteria that qualify an employee’s medical condition as “serious.” These criteria include:
- Any condition that requires inpatient care and a period of incapacitation following the discharge.
- Any medical condition that warrants three or more consecutive days off work, school, and other daily activities.
- Any incurable, chronic, or long-term condition that requires ongoing medical care or supervision.
- Reconstructive surgery, including dental and plastic surgeries, that resulted from an accident or illness.
This covers a wide range of medical conditions. In most situations, you will need documentation from your employee to properly grant or deny CFRA leave.
What Documentation Can I Require?
It is important to note that CFRA does not require employees to give you medical proof of their condition to qualify for CFRA leave. However, you may require it as an employer. If you do wish to require documentation, you should note this information in your employee handbook or during employee onboarding. The more notice you can give your employee of your CFRA policies, the less likely that you will encounter legal issues with your employees.
If you request documentation from your employees, they have 15 days to present you with their proof. The proof may outline:
- The start day of the illness or the onset of the injury
- The estimated length of the recovery time
- Relevant facts and information from a health care provider
- A statement from a medical professional stating that the employee cannot perform their job during a specified period.
Most medical professionals are well-versed in FMLA and CFRA laws and requirements and will include everything that you need to know in their notes.
Employee Rights During CFRA Leave
Many employees and employers alike get confused about their rights during a CFRA leave. A major point of contention is salary or pay. CFRA leaves are not eligible for income, meaning that employers do not have to pay their employees during their time off of work. CFRA is not the same as PTO, and, therefore, you do not have to compensate your employees while they are gone.
However, you do have to provide employees with ongoing benefits if they have them. This is to say that you cannot pause or end their medical or dental benefits while they are out of work for CFRA leave. They should have access to their full benefits while they are gone.
You also may not demote, fire, or punish employees for taking time off of work under CFRA. They should continue to accrue seniority while they are gone, and their job must be waiting for them when they get back. Fortunately, since pay is not required, many employers can hire temporary workers to fulfill job duties while their employee is not at work.
Employees may take up to 12 weeks off within a year. They must have worked for you for at least one year before they take their leave and have worked for you for 1,250 hours within any 12-month period before their leave. They must give you notice, generally 30 days, before their leave begins.
Hire a CFRA Attorney
If an employee presses charges against you for wrongful CFRA denial, you will need legal resources to preserve your business. The settlements for these cases can be significant if you lose. Many small and midsize businesses do not have the resources for in-house attorneys, so outsourcing to an experienced firm is a necessity. Even large companies that have attorneys on staff do not have CFRA specialists working for them. For this reason, it is important to hire a CFRA attorney to represent you. When you have the resources of a trained CFRA attorney, you eliminate stress from any CFRA cases and help to preserve your business from unwarranted settlement costs.
Contact Fishman, Larsen & Callister
Our team at Fishman, Larsen & Callister has been representing employers in California for many years. We will fight for your rights in court to ensure your employees do not take advantage of you. Though CFRA is a wonderful program when used correctly, employers can suffer when employees abuse the system. We are here to help protect you from these situations.
For more information about how we can help you with your business litigation case, contact Fishman, Larsen & Callister online today.