If you’re sick and need to take several weeks off to recover, what happens with your job? What if it’s your child, spouse, partner, or parent? What if it’s your brother or sister? Do you need to resign or is your job protected? Both federal and California labor laws offer protection to qualifying workers, but your employer may not make it as clear as they should. Shegerian Conniff is here to help you understand the laws you need to know when it comes to your rights.

Take a Closer Look at FMLA

FMLA stands for Family and Medical Leave Act. It’s a rule set forth by the U.S. Department of Labor. FMLA entitles qualified workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family and medical reasons without losing their job or group health insurance offered by their employer. This 12-week unpaid leave covers:

• Birth of a child and care for the newborn during the first year of his or her life.
• Adoption of a child or a foster care child’s adjustment period
• Care for a seriously ill spouse, child, or parent
• Emergency needs if a spouse, adult child, or parent is in the military and placed on active duty.

If a qualifying servicemember is seriously injured or ill, 26 weeks of leave is available through military caregiver leave laws.

You qualify for FMLA as long as you’ve worked for the employer for a full 12 months and have worked at least 1,250 hours in that time. You also must work for an employer that has 50 or more employees within 75 miles.

Your employer is required to post a general notice about FMLA in an area that is easily viewed and give you a pamphlet or letter that repeats what is on the general notice. The notice you’re handed must include information regarding your rights and responsibilities. If a large percentage of the workforce doesn’t speak fluent English, the notices must be in other languages.

Compare That to CFRA

CFRA stands for the California Family Rights Act. If you’re eligible, you receive up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for yourself when you’re seriously ill, care for a family member or “designated person” with a serious health issue, or bond with a new child (born to you or adopted by you). Your job is protected for all of those 12 weeks. 

In terms of who qualifies for caring for someone else, it can be a blood relative like a cousin, aunt/uncle, sibling, child, spouse, or best friend who is like family. It can also be an unmarried partner, in-law, or grandparent.

It also provides anyone who is pregnant, has given birth, or has a pregnancy-related medication condition (miscarriage, stillbirth, failed adoption/surrogacy, or unsuccessful assisted reproduction such as an unsuccessful embryo transfer) with unpaid, job-protected leave or special accommodations. Finally, the law requires all eligible employees to receive up to five days of bereavement leave when certain family members pass away. Those family members are:

• Your spouse or domestic partner
• Your child
• Your parent or parent-in-law
• Your sibling
• Your grandparent
• Your grandchild

How do you know if you’re eligible for CFRA? You must have worked for your employer for at least 12 months (1,250 hours in that year). You need to provide as much advance notice as you can. There is an exception to this, however. Any female employee, even part-time workers, is allowed pregnancy disability leave (PDL) from the date of hire as long as the company has at least five employees. You may be required to provide a note from a doctor or medical professional in order to prove there is a serious illness or other valid reason for the paid leave.

There’s another thing to know about PDL in California, you can take it before or after giving birth and up to four months are available. You are asked to provide at least 30 days’ notice before requesting PDL, but if that’s not possible, provide as much notice as you can. You may be required to take all sick leave first, but your employer cannot force you to use your vacation time. Your insurance coverage is also protected during this time.

The Ins and Outs of Disability Insurance, Employee Leave, and Paid Family Leave Laws

Other coverages some workers have are paid family leave (PFL) and disability insurance (DI). Paid family leave allows for up to 8 weeks of paid time off for three reasons. You’re caring for a family member with a severe illness, bonding with a new child, or having a family member in the military who is being deployed to another country. 

Disability insurance offers up to 52 weeks (one year) of paid benefits when you cannot work due to a non-work-related illness, injury, or pregnancy/childbirth. Neither DI nor PFL protects your job, however. If you take these paid leaves, your job could be at risk. That’s why it’s important that you understand the differences between these options and CFRA and FMLA. Your employer may require you to take CFRA and FMLA at the same time that PFL or DI is covering your lost wages.

Is Your Company Misinforming You?

Has your company followed the laws when it comes to explaining medical leave to you? Were you given misinformation? It happens. There are a lot of rules to follow when it comes to unpaid medical leave and paid medical leave. Human resources workers can make mistakes, and you have the right to correct them. If they still refuse to cover your time away for a medical emergency or illness, talk to a lawyer. 

Some of the most common medical leave violations include the following.

• Talking a worker out of taking FMLA, CFRA, or both.
• Stating if the employees take the time off, it will harm their career or chances for a promotion.
• Convincing a worker they don’t qualify for benefits when they do.
• Denying the leave, even if a medical letter or documentation is provided.
• Manipulating work hours to avoid having to provide CFRA or FMLA.
• Refusing to return the worker to the position they held before their leave.
• Engaging in retaliation or harassment when the worker returns.
• Urging a worker to work from home or come in for a quick meeting while on leave.

You can file a complaint with California’s Civil Rights Department if the complaint is related to CFRA. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division enforces FMLA laws. You can file these complaints on your own, but you may find it necessary to contact an employment law specialist in California to get clear answers and advice on the next steps to take.