The California Family Rights Act was updated and re-implemented in January of 2021. For California employers, it’s crucial to understand the different details that extend leave and job security to your employees through this legislation. The CFRA focuses on providing eligibility for protected job leave when an employee is dealing with exigent circumstances, such as a serious health condition, whether it’s their own or a family member’s.
Employers need to be aware of the qualifications of CFRA leave as well as how to operate properly when it is requested, especially when dealing with employees who work out of state. If employers fail to provide adequate benefits to their qualified employees, the potential for employment litigation increases, resulting in costly legal fees and time lost from work.
What Is CFRA?
The California Family Rights Act (CFRA) is a recently expanded aspect of California state law that gives employees the right to take leave from work under certain circumstances involving their family members or their own health. The benefits of the CFRA are available to eligible employees and provide them with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave and a protected spot at their job.
The 12 weeks of unpaid leave must occur within 12 months and cannot be extended, even if an employee has multiple qualifying reasons. Some employers may continue to pay an employee’s salary while they are on leave, but this is not required by law.
Both large and small businesses alike are required to offer CFRA benefits to their employees. While some small businesses may not be required to provide FMLA benefits unless they employ 50 workers or more, almost every business in California must provide CFRA. CFRA information must be displayed in a conspicuous manner in the workplace, in a location where employees tend to gather, or it must be included in an employee’s information packet when they are hired.
FMLA information must also be displayed in workplaces that qualify. It is illegal for employers not to disclose CFRA and FMLA information to their employees.
What Makes an Employee Eligible for CFRA Leave?
Employers need to understand when their employees are eligible to take leave with the help of the CFRA legislation. As of January 2021, an eligible employee is anyone who has worked for your business for at least 12 months and has put in a minimum of 1,250 hours of service there.
An eligible employee can take CFRA leave for multiple reasons, including:
- Their Own Serious Health Condition. If an employee is dealing with a serious health condition, they can request CFRA leave. California law defines a serious health condition as an illness, injury, impairment, or condition that requires extensive care and treatment or causes the employee to be incapacitated. Whether an employee is hospitalized for an extended period or beginning treatment for cancer, they are eligible for CFRA leave.
- To Care for Immediate Family with a Serious Health Condition. Children, spouses, parents, partners, and siblings all classify as immediate family. An employee may request CFRA leave if they have an immediate family member dealing with a serious health condition that requires their assistance.
- Bonding With a New Child. CFRA leave can also be granted to a parent who has recently welcomed a new child into their home. For their leave to be eligible, it must be taken within 12 months of the child’s birth or placement into the employee’s care. Child bonding leave can be taken for adoption and fostering purposes, as well as pregnancy disability leave, when applicable.
- Military Exigences. The recent addition to the CFRA legislation also opened up leave for employees with a “qualifying exigency,” or in this case, employees who have situations related to active duty. An employee may qualify for CFRA leave if their spouse was deployed and they have to stay home to care for children to properly meet the family’s needs. Other military events may also qualify.
- Injured military designations. The Federal FMLA program also allows eligible family members up to 26 weeks of leave to care for an injured or ill service member.
How Does CFRA Work for Out-of-State Employees?
All workers employed by California companies may qualify for CFRA leave, so long as the company has five or more employees. Even if an employee works out of state for the entire length of time they are employed by the California company, they still qualify. Some residents of California find they must travel to care for relatives in other states, and CFRA benefits will apply in this circumstance as well.
Because the demand for remote work has increased over the last few years, the recent expansion of the CFRA legislation guarantees that even telecommuters can receive access to leave and be assured of job security when circumstances apply.
CFRA and Out-of-State Employers
Because of the new legislation, if an out-of-state employer has at least five employees, they must provide CFRA benefits to any worker who lives in the state of California. For example, if an Oregon-based company has only one remote employee in California, they must still provide CFRA benefits to that sole California employee, even if they live close to the state line.
California takes workers’ rights seriously. If you are a California resident, your employer cannot deny your request for CFRA if you meet the necessary qualifications. Your job will be protected, your health insurance will continue to be paid by your employer while you are on leave, and your job is guaranteed to be there for you when your 12-week leave is over.
If your original position has been replaced or reassigned to another employee in your absence, your employer must provide a comparable position for the same amount of pay, benefits, and hours.
With the prevalence of remote work, many companies across the country employ California residents. Out-of-state employers must be made aware of these important laws. If an out-of-state employer refuses to grant requests for CFRA leave to a California worker who has been employed by their company for a year or more, they may face disciplinary action.
CFRA vs. FMLA for Remote Workers and Small Businesses
Many California employers wonder why they must provide CFRA if they have only a handful of employees, regardless of their location. Only 56% of employees in the US qualify for FMLA benefits. Many of these employees do not meet the requirements for FMLA, but these employees often work for small businesses that are not required to provide FMLA benefits.
These deficits in federal benefits can contribute to unemployment. When employees are forced to quit their jobs to receive medical care or care for a loved one, the economy suffers. Often, when workers attempt to return to the workforce, their former job is no longer available, and they suffer grave financial hardship. Over 1.8 million people in America are long-term unemployed. Gaps in employment can lead to homelessness, diminished skills, and a declining workforce.
CFRA legislation was revised in 2021 to address gaps in the FMLA program to better protect the state economy and California employees’ right to medical leave, especially remote workers.
Small employers now must provide the same benefits as larger companies, and CFRA laws apply to any employer with five or more full-time employees, whether remote or physically present at the workplace.
Some of the legislative changes and differences between CFRA and FMLA include:
- The 75-mile, 50-employee rule. In 2021, the law regarding the number of workers a CFRA-qualified company must employ changed. While FMLA still requires 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius for workers to qualify for FMLA benefits, CFRA only has a minimum requirement of five workers. These workers can be located within the state or remotely, and the 75-mile designation no longer applies for CFRA.
Examples of small businesses that would now be required to provide CFRA benefits include a local grocery store with at least five employees, or a hair salon that has an on-site staff of four stylists and a receptionist, plus a bookkeeper who works remotely. - Definition of a worksite. Under FMLA, a worksite is defined as the office where employees report and receive assignments, whether in person or remotely. Examples may include a software engineering studio that employs on-site employees and remote workers or a university that employs on-campus and online professors.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when many employees were forced to work from home, deficits in the FMLA program and the original CFRA legislation became more apparent. The 2021 revisions protect the rights of workers across the spectrum of employment and help employers maintain a satisfied workforce, reducing unemployment rates.
When employees are allowed to take medical leave, it benefits the workforce economy as a whole and helps decrease long-term unemployment and the need for SSI disability and Medicaid. Most California employees will qualify for both FMLA and CFRA benefits, but almost all California employees will qualify for CFRA, even if they do not qualify for FMLA.
Other CFRA Details Employers Should Know
While there are only a few reasons that an employee may qualify for CFRA leave, there are multiple small details within the legislation that are important for California employers to note, including:
- Both parents who work for the same employer qualify for 12 weeks of new child bonding time — not just one, allowing for extended time to help encourage parental bonding.
- CFRA rights and FMLA rights can be combined to give an employee a total of 24 weeks of protected leave from their job, so long as the employer meets FMLA designations.
- Key employees and other highly paid workers must be guaranteed reinstatement when they return.
- Extended family, such as siblings, grandparents, and domestic partners, all qualify as family members who may need assistance from an employee.
- For pregnant employees, CFRA leave can be taken in addition to Pregnancy Disability Leave.
When you are a business owner in California, you are required to uphold all state and federal laws around employment. Medical leave is an aspect of your responsibilities to your employees. When you hire an employment lawyer from Fishman, Larsen & Callister, we can advise you on all aspects of CFRA and FMLA law, helping you to protect your business from potential employment litigation in the future.
Chances are, your employees will need to take leave at some point in time to care for their health or that of a family member. With the rising cost of healthcare and the elderly population in need of care from family members, having a solid plan in place to protect your interests as a business owner is a vital part of being an employer.
Employment litigation costs companies millions of dollars each year. When you work with our firm, we can project your potential CFRA and FMLA needs in advance and revise your business plan as your company grows. When it comes to employment law, you need a lawyer you can trust, who can anticipate any potential pitfalls you may not foresee.
Hire an Employment Lawyer From Fishman, Larsen & Callister for Your CFRA Needs
There are a multitude of reasons an employee can request CFRA leave from an employer. Knowing the different local and federal regulations is a crucial aspect of staying informed when it comes to your business and your employees, as well as understanding employment law. Disability and medical leave violations are serious matters and significant sources of legal conflict. Understanding CFRA and FMLA laws can protect your business from civil action.
At Fishman, Larsen & Callister, we know how complicated running a business and taking care of your employees can be. Your time is valuable. That’s why we offer a wide range of legal services for employers throughout California, so you can operate your business more efficiently and thrive.
Our decades of combined experience with employment law have helped us serve business owners in Fresno, Fowler, Hanford, and many other areas throughout Central and Northern California. Contact us today to learn more about how we can assist you with your business goals. We are here for you and your business, so don’t hesitate to reach out to our law firm for support.