Leaves of Absence
Employees enjoy job protected leave under California law.
California Family Rights Act
Prior to January 1, 2021, California law gave employees the right to take 12 work weeks of job-protected leave:
to get treatment for a serious health condition;
to care for a parent, registered domestic partner, or child with a serious medical condition; and
to bond with an adopted or foster child or to bond with a newborn.
Govt. Code § 12945.2. To be eligible, an employee had to work for their employer for at least 1,250 hours in the last 12 months. Prior to January 1, 2021, the employer also needed to have at least 50 employees within 75 miles of the employee’s worksite.
Since January 1, 2021, California law has expanded to provide job-protected leave to employees of employers with 5 or more employees within a 75 mile radius (after a year and 1,250 work hours). The new law also permits leave to care for a domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or parent-in-law who has a serious health condition.
Other Leave
In addition to long-term, job-protected leave rights, California law provides other leave protections including:
paid sick leave for shorter term health issues (Labor Code sections 245-249);
leave for attending a child's school events, participating in other school-related activities, and responding to school emergencies, up to 40 hours each year for an employer with 25 or more employees, and with advanced notice (Labor Code section 230.8);
leave for responding to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking if you need to seek relief such as restraining orders (Labor Code sections 230(c) & 230.1); and
leave for jury duty (Labor Code section 230(a)).
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, California mandated that employers with 25 or more employees provide up to 2 weeks of paid sick leave to employees who cannot work for COVID-19 related reasons, including retroactive pay to anyone who took leave for a qualifying reason starting January 1, 2021.
In addition to state law protections, you may have rights under federal law (for example, Family Medical Leave Act, or laws responding to the COVID-19 pandemic), or your city's local laws that might provide more generous or broader protections.
If your employer denies or interferes with your leave rights, you may be able to recover damages, penalties, attorneys' fees and costs in a civil action against your employer. Moreover, you may have the right to reinstatement if your employer terminates you in retaliation for your exercising your rights.
If you would like to discuss a potential leave rights claim against your current or former employer, you may contact Terp Law for a consultation. (Last updated May 1, 2021.)