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Practice Areas > Family, Medical, & Disability Leave
Denial of California Family, Medical & Disability Leave Protections Comes in Many Forms
The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides important protections for eligible employees who need to take leave for family or medical reasons. FMLA allows qualifying employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected FMLA leave per year for specified reasons, including the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child, a serious health condition affecting the employee, or the need to care for certain family members with a serious health condition.
Employees may also have rights under state leave laws. When more than one law applies, employers must comply with all applicable requirements, and employees may be entitled to the protections provided under those laws.
Disability Leave
Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave provide wage replacement benefits only; they do not by themselves provide job protection. However, an employee’s job may be protected under other state or federal employee leave laws, including the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), or Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL).
To qualify for FMLA leave, an employee generally must have worked for a covered employer for at least 12 months, completed at least 1,250 hours of service during the previous 12 months, and work at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles. Covered employers must provide eligible employees with the protections required by FMLA.
CFRA applies to employers with five or more employees. Like FMLA, CFRA can provide job-protected medical leave and family leave, although the two laws differ in important ways.
FMLA and CFRA may provide leave for an employee’s own serious health condition or to care for qualifying family members. When both laws apply to the same reason for leave, FMLA leave and CFRA leave will often run at the same time rather than providing 12 weeks under each law.
Employees may also have additional leave rights when pregnancy disability, childbirth, or another qualifying condition is involved. Because different leave laws can interact in complex ways, employees should understand which protections apply to their particular circumstances.
Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) gives eligible workers the right to take job-protected leave for significant health issues, to care for certain family members, or to bond with a new child following birth, adoption, or foster care placement.
Eligible employees may take up to 12 weeks of FMLA leave during a qualifying 12-month period. This medical leave can allow workers to address serious medical needs without having to choose between their job and important family or personal responsibilities.
California workers may also have rights under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA). CFRA provides qualifying employees with job-protected leave for many family and medical reasons, and it applies to many employers that are too small to be covered by the federal FMLA.
When both FMLA and CFRA apply, the employee’s FMLA leave and CFRA leave may run concurrently for the same qualifying reason. However, certain situations—including pregnancy disability—can result in different protections or additional periods of protected leave.
During qualifying FMLA leave, covered employers generally must maintain an employee’s group health benefits under the same conditions that would apply if the employee had continued working. Employees returning from FMLA are generally entitled to return to the same job or an equivalent position, subject to the requirements and exceptions of the law.
Understanding how FMLA, CFRA, paid benefits, and other leave laws interact can help employees determine how much medical leave or family leave may be available.
Military Leave
Military leave protections can apply when employees take time away from work to perform military service or training. Depending on the type of service, employees may have protections under federal and state law concerning reemployment, seniority, benefits, and discrimination.
Some public employees may also qualify for paid military leave under applicable state rules. Eligibility, the amount of paid leave available, and other requirements can depend on the employee’s position, length of service, and type of military duty.
Federal FMLA protections may also apply in certain military-related situations. Eligible employees may use FMLA leave for qualifying exigencies arising from a covered family member’s military deployment. FMLA also provides eligible employees with military caregiver leave in qualifying circumstances.
Employers covered by these laws must comply with applicable military leave and reemployment protections. These rights can help servicemembers and their families maintain financial and employment stability during periods of active duty, deployment, or training.
Paid Medical & Sick Leave
Paid medical and sick leave laws require most employers to provide qualifying workers with paid time off for certain medical needs, including preventive care, treatment, diagnosis, and caring for qualifying family members.
Since January 1, 2024, most full-time, part-time, and temporary workers are entitled to at least 40 hours or five days of paid sick leave each year if they:
- Have worked for the same employer for at least 30 days within a year, and
- Have completed a 90-day employment period before using paid sick leave.
Paid sick leave is different from FMLA leave. Paid sick leave generally provides compensation during shorter absences, while FMLA may provide longer periods of unpaid, job-protected medical leave to eligible employees.
In some situations, paid time off may be used during FMLA leave. The rules governing whether paid leave and FMLA leave run at the same time depend on the circumstances and applicable workplace policies.
These protections allow workers to address their medical needs and the needs of family members while reducing the financial hardship that can accompany time away from work.
Pregnancy & Maternity Leave
Pregnancy and maternity leave can include several different types of protected leave associated with pregnancy, childbirth, recovery, and bonding with a new child. Depending on the circumstances, an employee may have rights under Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL), CFRA, FMLA, or a combination of these protections.
Pregnancy Disability Leave may provide job-protected medical leave when an employee is disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition. CFRA can separately provide qualifying employees with bonding leave after the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child.
Eligible employees may also qualify for FMLA leave related to pregnancy, childbirth, a serious health condition, or bonding with a new child. Because FMLA and PDL can overlap during pregnancy-related disability while CFRA bonding leave may provide additional protection afterward, some employees may qualify for a longer overall period of protected leave.
Covered employers must consider which federal and state protections apply rather than treating every pregnancy or parental leave request under a single law.
Understanding the differences among PDL, CFRA, and FMLA leave can help expecting and new parents plan their time away from work and understand their job-protection rights.
Voting Leave
Voting leave laws help ensure that employees have sufficient opportunity to participate in statewide elections. If an employee does not have enough time outside working hours to vote, they may be entitled to take enough time off to vote, with up to two hours of that time paid.
Employees generally should take voting leave at the beginning or end of their regular working shift, whichever provides the most time to vote and minimizes disruption, unless another arrangement is agreed upon with the employer.
If an employee knows in advance that time off will be necessary, they generally must provide their employer with at least two working days’ notice. Employers are also required to post a notice informing employees of their voting leave rights at least 10 days before a statewide election.
Voting leave is separate from FMLA and does not count as FMLA leave. It is a distinct workplace protection designed to ensure employees have a reasonable opportunity to exercise their right to vote.