Revisions of the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) went into effect on January 1, 2021 and provides eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to care for their own serious health condition or a family member with a serious health condition, or to bond with a new child.
Senate Bill No. 1383 expanded the CFRA in important ways to include more workers while extending the qualifying reasons for their leave and the categories of family for whom they may take leave.
Here is what the Leichter Law Firm, APC, Los Angeles employment law attorney, Aryeh Leichter wants California employees to know about their expanded family and medical leave rights.
Expanded CFRA Amendments Apply to Employers with Five or More Employees
Previously, employers with 50 or more employees were required to comply with the CFRA.
Now, employers with as few as five employees will be covered by the Act.
Family Care and Medical Leave Categories Were Expanded
Previously, those for whom the employee could take CFRA leave included spouses, minor children, adult dependent children, and parents.
Now, the Act has been expanded to also include:
- All Adult Children
- Children Of Domestic Partners
- Domestic Partners
- Grandchildren
- Grandparents
- Siblings
Expanded Leave for Parents Who Work for the Same California Employer
Before 2021, parents who worked for the same California employer were required to share 12 total weeks of leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care of a child.
The expanded Act now allows both parents to take 12 weeks of protected leave each.
There is No Longer a “Highest-Paid Employees” Exception
Before the CFRA amendments went into effect, employers could refuse family and medical leave for salaried workers who were among the highest-paid 10% of the company’s employees if it were believed their presence at work was necessary to prevent substantial economic injury.
That exception has been removed from the Act.
Active-Duty Military Demand Coverage
Military families are now eligible to take emergency leave related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of an employee’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent serving in any of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Contact the Leichter Law Firm, APC Employment Lawyer in Los Angeles, California
If you have been denied family or medical leave that you are entitled to under the expanded CFRA, contact Aryeh Leichter, the Leichter Law Firm, APC founder and employment law attorney in Los Angeles County, to get the legal help you need to pursue your employer for their unlawful behavior, starting with a free consultation by calling 818-915-6624 or contacting the firm online today.