If an employer has fewer than 50 employees, it is an internal call whether to grant time off. California Expands CFRA Bonding Leave Coverage. 2, §§ 11035(h) & 11037). To be eligible for CFRA leave, employees must be employed with the employer for a total of at least 12 months and have worked at least 1,250 hours with the employer in the 12 months preceding the CFRA leave. If the employee does not authorize communication with his or her healthcare provider and also provides no clarification, then the employer can deny the leave request. Code Regs., tit. However, CFRA is silent on the issue of clarification by the employer.

Unlike in many other states, in California, the 6 weeks of pregnancy disability leave you took DO NOT count toward your 12 weeks of bonding time, which means, if you are in fact entitled to your bonding leave, you would be entitled to 6 + 12 = 18 weeks off. To request leave under FMLA and CFRA, 30 days advance notice is required if your need for family care and medical leave is foreseeable (e.g., the birth of child or a planned medical treatment).

Eligible employees can take the leave for one or more of the following reasons: “The determination of whether an employee has worked for the employer for at least 1,250 hours in the past 12 months and has been employed by the employer for a total of at least 12 months must be made as of the date the FMLA leave is to start.” 29 C.F.R. Outside the 9th Circuit, an employer clearly can decide whether the employee can refuse to take FMLA leave, Pate noted.

I have an employee in …

FMLA guarantees a maximum of 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a year. If a healthcare provider’s certification states that the employee has a “serious health condition” as defined by CFRA, and also … Family and medical weeks are calculated the same as workweeks with a normal … CFRA does not … The employer can also require the employee to schedule such leave or reduced hours to minimize the disruption to its business. An employer typically cannot deny a sick day request if the employee has a legitimate medical issue.

The CFRA also permits intermittent leave. While on leave, employees have the rights to keep the same employer-paid health benefits they had while they working.

Our employee wants to take time off to be home with a new baby, but has not met the requirements of having worked for our company for one year. The protected leave is authorized by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and California Family Rights Act (CFRA), which require that the employer have 50 or more employees.