310-776-3590
At Mehtani Law Offices, P.C., our Beverly Hills employment law attorney knows that California employment laws often provide additional protections from their Federal counterparts. This is good news for workers throughout California, as our state-specific laws are consistently evolving to provide job-protected leave for more workers than the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides.
Here is what our Los Angeles County employment lawyers want California employees to know about the state’s updated family leave laws.
Expanded California Family Rights Act Amendments
Effective January 1, 2021, the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) began providing eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to care for their serious health conditions, a family member with a serious health condition, or to bond with a new child.
Previously, only employers with 50 or more employees were required to comply with the CFRA.
Now, employers with as few as five employees are covered by the Act.
In addition, Senate Bill No. 1383 expanded the CFRA to include more workers, extending the qualifying reasons for their leave, and the categories of family for whom they may take leave.
Previously, California employees could take CFRA leave to care for:
- Spouses
- Minor Children
- Adult Dependent Children
- Parents
Now, the Act has been expanded to also include:
- All Adult Children
- Children Of Domestic Partners
- Domestic Partners
- Grandchildren
- Grandparents
- Siblings
Additional important CFRA Amendments include:
- When both parents work for the same California employer, each may take 12 weeks of protected leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care of a child. Before, they were required to share 12 total weeks.
- Military families are now eligible to take emergency leave related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of an employee’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent serving in any of the U.S. Armed Forces.
- California employers may no longer refuse family and medical leave for salaried workers who were among the highest-paid 10% of the company’s employees. Before, if it were believed their presence at work was necessary to prevent substantial economic injury, leave could be denied.
As California continues to expand its employees’ rights, our experienced Beverly Hills employment law attorneys at Mehtani Law Offices, P.C. will continue to enforce them by helping employees pursue legal action against their employers when they have been violated.
Contact Our experienced Beverly Hills Employment Law Attorneys at Mehtani Law Offices, P.C.
If your California employer is violating your CFRA rights, contact our dedicated employment law attorneys in Los Angeles County today by calling 310-776-3590 or contact us online to discuss your legal needs during a free consultation.