Employers with employees in California may be overwhelmed by the amount of leave options that apply to their workforce. There’s Paid Family Leave, Pregnancy Disability Leave, Reproductive Loss Leave, and Bereavement Leave.
Then there’s the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), which provides eligible employees in California with the right to take up to 12 weeks of leave for certain circumstances. Though the CFRA does not require leave to be paid, it offers job protection.
To help you tease out the leave requirements you may face under the CFRA, we’ve created this quick reference guide that lays out everything you need to know and tells you how to stay compliant.
Who is eligible for the California Family Rights Act?
The CFRA covers private employers with five or more employees. It also covers employers within the state and local governments. Employees at covered employers must satisfy a number of requirements to be eligible for CFRA leave.
- Employees must have more than 12 months of service at an employer.
- Employees must have worked at least 1,250 hours for that employer in a 12-month period before their leave begins.
Does the California Family Rights Act provide any wage replacement?
No. Employers are permitted to pay their employees who are out on CFRA leave, but they are not obligated to do so. Employers may allow or require employees to use accrued paid time off during their CFRA leave. It’s also worth noting that employees taking CFRA leave may be eligible for California’s Paid Family Leave program or State Disability Insurance.
Employers that provide health benefits under a group plan must continue to make these benefits available during an employee’s CFRA leave. Employees must also be able to continue accruing seniority and take part in other benefit plans.
Does the California Family Rights Act require employer contributions?
No.
Does the California Family Rights Act interact with other types of leave?
Employers may require employees to use accrued vacation time or other paid leave other than sick time while taking CFRA leave to care for a seriously ill family member or to bond with a new child, unless the employee is receiving Paid Family Leave. Likewise, employers may require employees to use accrued vacation and sick time if they are taking CFRA leave to deal with their own serious health condition, unless that employee is receiving State Disability Insurance.
It’s important to note that employees are entitled to take pregnancy disability leave in addition to any leave entitlement under CFRA. Pregnancy disability leave is available to employees who are “actually disabled, up to a total of four months.” This leave provides time off for:
- Prenatal or postnatal care
- Severe morning sickness
- Doctor-ordered bed rest
- Childbirth
- Recovery from childbirth
- Loss or end of pregnancy
- “Any other related medical condition”
Does the California Family Rights Act offer job protection?
Yes. Employees returning to work after taking CFRA leave are entitled to their same position or a comparable one. If their original position is unavailable, “the employer must offer a position that is comparable in terms of pay, benefits, shift, schedule, geographic location, and working conditions, including privileges, perquisites, and status, unless the employer can prove that no comparable position exists.”
Employees are not entitled to reinstatement, however, if the employee would have been laid off or terminated for reasons outside their leave.
What leave options does the California Family Rights Act provide employees?
Eligible employees can take as many as 12 work weeks of leave in a 12-month period, California says. Employees can take the leave in segments or one continuous period of time.
The CFRA covers leave for a number of reasons.
- Eligible employees can take leave to bond with a child following their birth, adoption, or foster care placement. Parents must take leave within a year of this event. It’s worth noting that parents do not have to “split” the 12 weeks of leave if they work for the same employer. In that situation, they are both entitled to 12 weeks of leave.
- Eligible employees may take leave to care for a designated person — a child, spouse, domestic partner, parent, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling with a serious health condition.
- The CFRA defines designated person as anyone “related by blood to the employee.” This category includes aunts, uncles, or cousins. It also extends to any person “who is like family to the employee” — the employee’s unmarried partner or best friend. The state of California notes that employers “have the right to limit employees to using CFRA leave to care for one designated person in a 12-month period.”
- Eligible employees may take leave to deal with their own serious health condition.
- Eligible employees may take leave for a “qualifying exigency related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of a spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Armed Forces of the United States.”
What documents can employers ask employees to provide for employees wanting to take leave under the California Family Rights Act?
Employers may require written certification verifying an individual’s serious health condition or that of the designated person the employee is caring for. This documentation can come from the health-care provider of the employee and state the reasons for the leave and the likely duration of the condition. Healthcare providers may not disclose, however, the diagnosis causing the condition, unless the patient gives consent.
When does an employee need to give notice of their California Family Rights Act leave?
Employees must provide 30 days’ notice when their need for CFRA leave is foreseeable. Employees receiving planned medical treatment must also make “reasonable effort” to schedule it so as to avoid “operational disruption” (though that’s subject to the approval of the healthcare provider of the individual).
Employees whose need for CFRA leave is not foreseeable must give notice “as soon as practicable.”
In either case, notice can be written or verbal. It should include the timing and the expected duration of the leave. Employers may not require employees to disclose their underlying diagnosis. Employers are obligated to respond to a leave request “as soon as possible and no later than 5 business days.”
How can your HR team ensure they are compliant with the California Family Rights Act?
The state of California provides helpful information and many resources about the CFRA on its website. To enhance your compliance efforts, schedule a demo with AbsenceSoft. Our system is updated by our in-house experts to keep you compliant from day one.
Frequently Asked Questions About the California Family Rights Act
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Yes, and the threshold is lower than many HR teams expect. The CFRA covers private employers with five or more employees. It also covers state and local government employers. If you meet that threshold, you are a covered employer.
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Yes. Employees are entitled to take pregnancy disability leave in addition to any leave entitlement under CFRA. Pregnancy disability leave is available to employees who are “actually disabled” by pregnancy, up to four months. That leave is separate from the 12 weeks of CFRA leave an employee may also be entitled to.
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It depends on the reason for leave. For bonding with a new child or caring for a seriously ill family member, you may require use of accrued vacation but not sick time, unless the employee is receiving Paid Family Leave. For the employee’s own serious health condition, you may require use of both vacation and sick time, unless the employee is receiving State Disability Insurance. Documenting your policy and applying it consistently is essential. AbsenceSoft supports custom policy configuration so your rules are applied the same way every time, regardless of who is managing the case.
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Each is entitled to their own full 12 weeks. The CFRA does not require parents to split their leave entitlement when they work for the same employer.
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California’s definition is broad. In addition to children, spouses, domestic partners, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings, the CFRA covers anyone related by blood, including aunts, uncles, and cousins, as well as anyone who is “like family,” such as an unmarried partner. Employers do have the right to limit employees to one designated person per 12-month period.
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The CFRA requires employers to respond as soon as possible and no later than five business days. AbsenceSoft sends automated prompts and reminders throughout the leave process to help your team respond within required timeframes.
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You may request written certification from a healthcare provider confirming that a serious health condition exists, the reasons for the leave, and the likely duration. However, healthcare providers may not disclose the underlying diagnosis unless the patient consents, and employers may not require them to do so. AbsenceSoft generates compliant certification packets automatically, so your team sends the right forms and requests only what the law allows.
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The article does not address FMLA interaction directly, so we recommend reviewing that question with your legal counsel or compliance team. What the article does note is that CFRA covers some family relationships that other leave laws do not, which makes accurate eligibility calculation important. AbsenceSoft’s compliance engine covers more than 200 federal and state leave laws and calculates eligibility so nothing falls through the cracks.
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The article does not specify recordkeeping requirements, but thorough documentation is a best practice for any leave program. AbsenceSoft centralizes all case documentation, communications, and medical records in one secure location, so if a complaint or audit arises, everything your team needs is already in one place.