What does FMLA do?
Eligible workers can take unpaid, protected leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for certain qualified medical and family reasons. Workers who qualify can take a maximum of twelve workweeks off every year.
The California Family Rights Act (CFRA) guarantees certain qualified employees protected, unpaid leave for particular, qualifying medical and family-related reasons. Workers who qualify can take a maximum of twelve workweeks off every year. Both CFRA and FMLA may be in effect at the same time, depending on the nature of the leave.
To qualify for either the CFRA or FMLA, employees need to have accumulated 12 months of service as of the start of their leave.
- Temporary and part-time jobs contribute toward the twelve-month requirement.
- A partial week of payroll is considered an entire week for employees.
- According to CFRA, an employee’s time off counts toward the number of months they must work, but does not count toward the 1,250 hours they must work in a year.
- Employees are required to have worked a minimum of 1,250 hours in the twelve months prior to the start of their CFRA or FMLA leave.
- All hours worked, as well as overtime, are included in the total.
- A worker’s hours do not mean paid time off for things like vacation, sick leave, or compensatory time off (CTO).
- This does not include periods of unemployment or unpaid leave.
- The number of hours worked over the course of a “rolling twelve-month period” is what counts toward an employee’s eligibility for FMLA and CFRA leave.
Hours of service that would have been accomplished but for military service are eligible for credit under USERRA (Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act).
In order to account for FMLA and CFRA leaves that are still in the processing phase, eligibility is recalculated at the beginning of each calendar year.
Employees who are eligible for FMLA/CFRA leave can take as many as twelve workweeks each calendar year for any combination of the following reasons:
CFRA and FMLA
- A severe injury or sickness that prevents the worker from carrying out the necessary function(s) of their position.
- A severe injury or illness sustained at the workplace that prevents the individual from carrying out their vital job functions
- For a partner, child (under 18 or adult dependent), parent, or child with a serious illness
- Birth parent bonding with child
- Bonding for non-biological parents, children in foster care, and adoptees
- An emergency that arises because a parent, spouse, or child is serving in the military and is either currently on active duty or has been called to active duty
Only FMLA
- Being pregnant and giving birth
- Military caregiver
Only CFRA
- Birth parent bonding with child
- To provide for the medical needs of a grandchild, grandparent, brother or sister, or recognized domestic partner who is gravely ill
- Assisting a domestic partner’s child who is very sick
- Taking care of a sick domestic partner
- To provide for a sick adult child
- A qualifying emergency that arises because a domestic partner is a member of the armed forces serving in a covered capacity or ordered to do so
Alternate work schedules: employees can take FMLA/CFRA leave in chunks or by decreasing their hours worked per day or week for one qualified reason, as mentioned before.
Depending on your specific situation and needs, you have the option to receive unpaid, paid or a combo of paid and unpaid leave while qualifying for FMLA and/or CFRA.
Union collective bargaining agreements or the Personnel Policy for Staff Members (PPSM) specify the sorts of paid time off (sick, vacation, PTO, EST) that can be used to reimburse employees for qualifying FMLA and/or CFRA leaves that would otherwise be unpaid.
Eligible workers can have their income replaced for up to 8 workweeks in a calendar year through Pay for Family Care and Bonding (PFCB). FMLA and CFRA leaves taken for the following reasons are eligible for PFCB:
- Helping a loved one cope with a life-threatening illness
- Special leave for military caregivers and/or qualifying emergencies; bonding with a baby, foster child, or adopted child
An employee’s own significant health condition, work-related injury or illness, or pregnancy disability cannot be the basis for a PFCB pay option when taking FMLA and/or CFRA vacations.
Workers who use less than their allotted leave won’t have to worry about re-qualifying (in terms of hours worked) to take more leave for the same reason within the next 12 months.
The employee will need to re-qualify if the additional leave is not related to the initial leave.
Employees are not to be penalized for taking FMLA or CFRA leave; instead, they must be reinstated to their previous position or another comparable position with equal pay, benefits, and other employment terms and conditions.
Unless it’s a leave of absence for military service, a new parent, or a family member, the employee has to give a “Certification of Health Care Provider for Employee to Return to Work” form to HR before their date of return to work.
While on FMLA or CFRA leave, an employee’s coverage may expire or they may opt out of the group health plan altogether. Nevertheless, if an employee’s leave was fewer than 120 days, they are eligible for reinstatement under the same conditions as before their leave. The employee is eligible for new benefits and has a new period of initial eligibility (PIE) if their leave lasted longer than 120 days.
An employee’s contractual or policy-mandated leave may exceed that required by federal and state law.
Any privilege granted under FMLA and/or CFRA cannot be infringed upon, restricted, or denied in any way.
Also, no business can fire or otherwise treat an employee unfairly only because they disagree with a policy or are involved in a lawsuit over FMLA or CFRA.
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Amit2025-03-28 04:24:272025-03-28 04:24:29What Is a Pay Stub and Why It Matters for Employees and Employers
