Riverside Family/Medical Leave & California Family Rights Act Lawyer
Employees in California have certain rights to unpaid and paid leave in various circumstances. For example, these laws allow certain employees to take leave to provide care for themselves or for a family member dealing with a serious health condition, or to bond with a child following childbirth or adoption, for example. If you believe you need to take leave from your job or have questions about your rights to leave in California, or if you are an employer with inquiries about your obligations concerning leave laws, one of our Riverside FMLA & CFRA lawyers can assist you.
Riverside Employee Rights and Employer Responsibilities Under the FMLA and CFRA
Both state and federal laws provide protections to employers who need to take job-protected protected leave from their jobs. Depending upon the circumstances, some California laws permit employees to take job-protected paid leave, while other scenarios only provide for job-protected unpaid leave. Two key leave laws include:
- Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA); and
- California Family Rights Act (CFRA).
California state law generally provides more protections for employees than federal law does. However, the FMLA and CFRA broadly permit employees in California to take 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for any of the following reasons:
- Employee’s own serious illness;
- For employee to provide care for a seriously ill family member;
- For employee to bond with a new child; or
- Circumstances involving a family member’s military deployment overseas.
Eligibility for FMLA or CFRA Leave in Riverside
The FMLA and CFRA provide similar protections to employees, but the CFRA applies to more employees than federal law does. The following employees are eligible for job-protected leave under the CFRA:
- Employee has worked for a covered employer for more than 12 months; and
- Employee has worked at least 1,250 hours in the year before taking the leave.
The CFRA was also expanded recently to apply to more employees in the state and to expand the reasons CFRA leave can be taken. As of January 1, 2021, the following information also applies:
- Covered employers are employers in California with 5 or more employees (which is a shift from 50 or more employees), and effectively means that most employers will be covered;
- Employees can take CFRA leave for additional reasons, including active-duty exigencies;
- Employees can take CFRA leave to care for additional types of family members, including adult children, the child of a domestic partner, a grandparent, a grandchild, or a sibling; and
- If two parents of a new child both work for the same employer, each parent is entitled to 12 separate weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave.
Prohibitions Against Retaliation Under the FMLA and CFRA in Riverside
State and federal leave laws protect employees against retaliation. To be clear, it is unlawful for an employer to take any adverse action against an employee because that employee exercises their right to job-protected leave.
If an employer does engage in any behavior that constitutes retaliation, the employee may be able to file a claim and the employer can face serious consequences.
Seek Advice from a Riverside FMLA and CFRA Attorney
Do you have questions about FMLA or CFRA leave? A Riverside employment law attorney can assist you. Contact the Law Office of Karen J. Sloat, APC to learn more.
