Medical Leave for Employees

Employer CFRA Requirements and Employee CFRA Eligibility

California’s Family Rights Act requires covered employers to provide eligible employees with unpaid, job-protected leave. As of January 2021, CFRA has expanded its application to employers with five or more employees. This means that even more employers/employees are covered under CFRA.  As either an employer or an employee, there are some key takeaways from CFRA that you need to know.

What you need to know about CFRA Leave:

-CFRA leave is unpaid, however, employers are required to provide health insurance during CFRA leave.

-To qualify for CFRA leave, an employee must: (1) have worked for an employer for more than 12 months and; (2) have worked for an employer for 1,250 hours in the 12 months prior to leave.

-You may be eligible for CFRA if you have family members with a serious health condition or based on your own serious health condition. A serious health condition includes an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that causes or requires:

• Any period of treatment in connection with inpatient care
• Any period of incapacity requiring a leave of absence from school, work, or other regular daily activities for three or more consecutive days
• Ongoing treatment from a health care provider for a chronic or long-term health condition

-Although CFRA leave is unpaid, employees may be eligible to receive wage replacement benefits under California’s State Disability Insurance program or through Paid Family Leave programs.

-CFRA leave is job protected. Employees are entitled to reinstatement to the same position, or to a similar position as they had prior to taking leave.

-You are required to give your employer 30 days notice if possible.

-You may be required to provide medical certification of a serious health condition.

Navigating through California’s Family Rights Act is not as simple as it sounds. An employee may be entitled to leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), rather than under CFRA.

Need to know if you qualify for CFRA/FMLA as either an employee or employer? You may request a free consultation at the link provided here.