California Family Rights Act (CFRA) (Cal. Gov't Code 12945.2)

Covered Employers : A ny person who directly employs 5 or more persons to perform services for a wage or salary. The employees need not all work in California.

Employee Eligibility : Any employee with more than 12 months of service with the employer, and who has at least 1,250 hours of service during the previous 12-month period is eligible. For an employee taking CFRA leave to bond with a baby immediately following California Pregnancy Disability leave for the birth of that baby, the 1,250-hour requirement must have been met in the 12 months immediately preceding the start of the pregnancy disability leave, not the 12 months immediately preceding the start of the CFRA leave.

Entitlement : 12 weeks of leave in a 12-month period are available. Covered leave reasons are:

• Bonding with a newborn baby, a newly adopted child, or a newly placed foster child.

• Care of a parent, spouse (which includes registered domestic partners), child (meaning a "biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis, who is either of the following: (a) under 18 years of age, or (b) an adult dependent child"), grandparent, grandchild, or sibling with a serious health condition (meaning "an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves either of the following: (a) inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential health care facility; or (b) continuing treatment or continuing supervision by a health care provider ").

• The employee's own serious health condition (meaning "an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves either of the following: (a) inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential health care facility; or (b) continuing treatment or continuing supervision by a health care provider") that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of their position, except for leave taken for disability on account of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.

• Due to a qualifying exigency related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of an employee's spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Armed Forces of the United States.

If leave is being taken to bond with a newborn, adopted, or foster child, the employee cannot be required to take their leave all at once. The basic minimum duration of the leave shall be two weeks. However, an employer shall grant a request for a CFRA leave of less than two weeks' duration on any two occasions and may grant requests for additional occasions of leave lasting less than two weeks.

If leave is being taken for a serious health condition of the employee, or of the employee's child, parent, or spouse, leave may be taken intermittently or on a reduced work schedule when medically necessary, as determined by the health care provider of the person with the serious health condition. An employer must limit leave increments to the shortest period of time that the employer's payroll system uses to account for absences or use of leave, provided it is not greater than one hour.

Employee Notice : Employees should provide at least verbal notice to their employer, and the employer may require at least 30 days advance notice when the need for leave is foreseeable based on an expected birth, placement for adoption or foster care, or planned medical treatment for a serious health condition of the employee or a family member. The employee shall consult with the employer and make a reasonable effort to schedule any planned medical treatment or supervision so as to minimize disruption to the operations of the employer. When the need for leave for leave is unforeseeable, employees must give notice as soon as practicable. (Note: the Absence product does not have an automated way of identifying whether enough notice was given, because it is impossible to identify in the system whether the employee could foresee their need for leave, and if so, when they knew they would need leave.)

Obligation to provide certification or documents supporting need for leave : Employer may require medical certification when leave is taken due to a serious medical condition. The employer may require that the employee provide any certification within no less than 15 calendar days of the employer's request for such certification, unless it is not practicable for the employee to do so despite the employee's good faith efforts. Certification of a serious health condition need not identify the condition involved. The employer may not contact a health care provider for any reason other than to authenticate a medical certification.

Paid: No. An employee may elect to use or an employer may require an employee to use any accrued vacation time or other paid accrued time off (including undifferentiated PTO) that the employee is eligible to take during the otherwise unpaid portion of CFRA leave. An employee may also elect to use, or an employer may require an employee to use, any accrued sick leave that the employee is eligible to take during the otherwise unpaid portion of CFRA leave if the CFRA leave is for the employee's own serious health condition or any other reason if mutually agreed between the employer and the employee. Note that the California Labor Commissioner has issued conflicting guidance regarding requiring the use of California Paid Sick Leave. Employees may also be eligible for California Paid Family Leave payments but cannot be required to "top off" PFL benefits with accrued PTO.

Benefits : Employee on leave are entitled to participate in any employee benefit plans (including life, disability, accident, pension and retirement, and supplemental unemployment benefit plans) to the same extent and under the same conditions as apply to workers on unpaid leave for any other purpose. Benefits must be resumed upon employee reinstatement from family care and medical leave in the same manner and at the same levels as provided when leave began, without any new qualification period or physical exam.

Reinstatement : The employee is guaranteed employment in the same or a comparable position upon the termination of the leave. When an employer grants an employee's request for CFRA leave, the employer must notify the employee that CFRA guarantees the employee be reinstated to the same or a comparable position upon returning from leave.

Other important definitions/requirements:

• “Parent” means a biological, foster, or adoptive parent, a stepparent, a legal guardian, or other person who stood in loco parentis to the employee when the employee was a child.

• “Parent-in-law” means the parent of a spouse or domestic partner.

• “Grandchild” means a child of the employee’s child.

• “Grandparent” means a parent of the employee’s parent.

• “Sibling” means a person related to another person by blood, adoption, or affinity through a common legal or biological parent.

Relationship with Other Leave : CFRA may run concurrently with Federal FMLA.

Absence Specifications