Balancing work and family is often difficult. Both aspects of one’s life can demand significant time and attention, and it can be challenging to give each the attention it deserves.
Certain family emergencies and scenarios demand employee focus. To combat this, there are state and federal programs that allow employees to take time off of work to concentrate on their families without losing their jobs or suffering from employment penalties. These programs are vitally important to keep society functioning and allow workers to care for family members when necessary.
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) is a program in California that allows workers to take time off for family or medical reasons. If you are an employer of any kind, it is important that you know your employees’ rights under CFRA so you do not inadvertently deny an application illegally.
What Does CFRA Cover?
There are certain scenarios that are covered by CFRA. These situations make an employee eligible to take time off of work. Situations include:
- Caring for a family member who is experiencing a significant medical event
- Giving birth to a child
- Welcoming a foster or adopted child into the home
- Recovering from a significant medical event
If an employee gets CFRA time off for a qualifying event, they still have the right to many of their employment benefits. Even if an employee is off work for CFRA, they should get:
- Access to their health insurance, dental insurance, retirement benefits, and pension
- Retained seniority status
- Protection from being terminated because of the leave
- Up to 12 total weeks of CFRA within a single year
If you grant an employee a proper CFRA leave, their job and seniority status should be waiting when they return. As an employer, you cannot punish your employees for taking this time off.
Eligibility for CFRA
Not all employees are eligible for CFRA leave. You must be sure an employee is eligible before you grant their time off of work under CFRA. The employee in question must have worked for you for at least one year before their leave. They must have also worked 1,250 hours within 12 months for your business to qualify.
If an employee meets these requirements, you can then assess your status as an employer. Employers must have at least 50 employees. They must have a work site that is in California, and at least 50 employees must work within 75 miles of that work site. The employee must work within 75 miles of the work site to qualify.
For example, let’s say your business is a Los Angeles marketing firm with 60 employees. However, 15 of those employees work remotely from San Francisco. In this case, your employees may not qualify for CFRA and need to look at other options.
To protect employers, employees who are taking CFRA leave must still give plenty of notice to their employers. Usually, they must submit for CFRA leave at least 30 days in advance of their absence to qualify.
Can CFRA Be Denied?
If the employee’s situation and your status as an employer meet all of the CFRA criteria, then you cannot deny an employee’s CFRA leave. The state government runs this program, and it is the law that all qualifying employees must have access to the program’s benefits.
If you unlawfully deny CFRA leave, your employee has one year to take action. Their first step is to formally file a complaint through the California Department of Fair Housing and Employment. This allows the government to take action against you and your business for wrongfully denying their claim.
Employees have further options as well. If you unlawfully deny CFRA leave, your employee can take legal action to recover some of the losses that resulted from the denial. This is one of the few situations in which an employee is legally allowed to press charges against their employer.
Potential Compensation for Denied CFRA Leave
If you unlawfully denied CFRA leave and your employee decides to press charges, you are liable for a significant amount of damages. Potential compensation includes:
- Reinstatement of employment, if lost
- Reimbursement of lost wages
- Interest on lost wages
- Reimbursement for any money lost or expenses paid as a result of your CFRA denial
- Compensation for emotional distress
- Compensation for attorney fees and legal costs
This is a significant cost that few businesses can afford. This is why it is extremely important to be sure you have proper grounds to deny a CFRA claim before you do so. If you do not, you can face significant legal expenses and settlement costs.
Why Do I Need a CFRA Attorney?
If you are fighting a CFRA case, you need an attorney to present your case. Many small and midsize businesses do not retain an attorney, as the cost is not practical. However, hiring a CFRA attorney can help to protect your business and give you a chance to win your case. There is a lot at stake in these cases, so you need to find a qualified attorney to help you. Ultimately, the investment in an attorney is usually much more economical than paying the settlement your employee is seeking.
Contact Fishman, Larsen & Callister
You can trust our team at Fishman, Larsen & Callister with all of your CFRA compliance and business litigation cases. We have been working in this sector for many years, and we understand the extreme importance of these cases. Our expertise gives you an advantage in the courtroom, easing your mind about the case and potential outcomes. We will walk you through the entire process and communicate clearly and thoroughly about anything that occurs. No other firm takes as much care or caution with their clients as our team at Fishman, Larsen & Callister.
We are proud to protect our community with strong, reliable business litigation services. No matter your situation, industry, or issue, we are confident that we can help you navigate your CFRA compliance case.
For more information on how we can serve you, please contact Fishman, Larsen & Callister online today.