Your job and your career are probably very important to you, but there are times when family and your own health must come first. California laws defend the rights of workers who need time away from the workplace for a family issue, a medical issue, or to vote or serve on a jury.
California’s Family and Medical Leave Laws enable new parents to take the time to bond with a new child. The laws allow employees the time they need to file a domestic violence restraining order. They allow time off for California’s members of the military and their spouses.
These laws are a right of all California employees. Employers can face stiff penalties for denying these rights. They can also face sanctions if they retaliate against an employee who reports a Family And Medical Leave law violation. Employees have no reason to allow these violations to slide after they’ve been made a victim.
Contact a California Family And Medical Leave Lawyer
Maison Law exists to help California employees who have been denied their rights by employers. Employees who seek justice for violations of family and medical leave law and other abuses of power should receive every benefit available under state law. Victims should also remain fully protected from retaliation and get their fair share of any penalties enforced against companies.
We help victims recover what is legally owed to them. Contact us for a free consultation and we will listen to your case and help you decide whether or not your case is worth pursuing with the help of an attorney.
This consultation is completely confidential, and you are under no obligation to work with us. Even if we don’t represent your labor law case, we will be happy to point you in the right direction.
Family and Medical Leave Protections for California Workers
There are many California and federal laws that protect a worker’s right to take leave of their work duties in an emergency or to deal with a family need. The Family And Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) employee leave laws are two of the most influential laws establishing family and medical leave employee rights.
California’s Employment Development Department (EDD) explains the FMLA and the CFRA as federal and state leave laws that allow eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave.
FMLA and CFRA protections also help you maintain employment while you are receiving Disability Insurance or Paid Family Leave benefits when you must:
- Take medical leave for yourself.
- Care for a family member who is seriously ill.
- Bond with a new child.
- Participate in a qualifying event because of a family member’s military deployment to a foreign country.
There are other California Laws and Labor Codes that ensure workers receive the time they need to tend to personal matters listed at the bottom of this page.
California Sick Leave Protections for Employees
California’s Labor Code sections 246.5 deals with employers who try to deny workers their paid sick days. Several state and federal laws empower employees to demand sick days. Recently, the pandemic has spawned new laws that add to sick-day rights already in place.
As for California labor laws regarding sick days, employees should receive 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked or another approved calculation method approved by California labor officials. An employer may cap accrual at 48 hours and cap use at 3 days or 24 hours, whichever is greater, within 12 months. The sick day benefits begin to accrue upon hire and may be used after 90 days.
Qualifying employees must be paid when they use a sick day at the regular rate or average rate for the preceding 90 days.
Employees may use their sick days to care for the following qualifying family members:
- Child, including a biological, adopted foster, or stepchild.
• Biological, adoptive, or foster parent or stepparent.
• A spouse or registered domestic partner.
• Grandparent.
• Grandchild.
• Sibling.
Some cities in California also have local paid sick leave guidelines. A California Family and Medical Leave Lawyer would help you identify every labor law that applies to your situation and help you seek the most in compensation when you are denied those benefits.
California’s Pregnancy Disabilities Leave
Under CFRA and the FMLA leave laws, employers must allow employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a newborn child or a newly adopted child. Parents must have worked for the employee for a year or more. They must have logged at least 1,250 work hours over the year. California law extends these protections to employees at companies with at least five employees. Federal laws protect only those employees with slightly bigger staff. Speak with California Labor Law Attorney to find out which state and federal laws apply to your case.
Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) protects women who are considered disabled due to pregnancy or giving birth. Employers who employ five or more people are expected to provide this leave.
Expectant mothers may be on bed rest before the birth of a child or have health issues after giving birth. These conditions may leave them unable to perform normal work duties.
California allows mothers on PDL to stay home for up to 4 months. Mothers on PDL usually aren’t paid but they do retain health benefits.
Can I Be Fired for Reporting My Company for Family and Medical Leave Violations?
You are protected by strong California labor codes that prohibit retaliation of any kind after you report a workplace violation. Your employer could fire you, but you could then file a lawsuit over workplace retaliation.
If your company is found guilty of terminating your job because you reported them, the company could be forced to hire you back and restore your pay. The company could also have to pay stiff penalties that you may receive a share of.
Contact a Family and Medical Leave Lawyer Serving California Victims
If you have been denied your right to pregnancy leave, sick leave, military leave, or any other time off you are entitled to, please contact a California Employment Leave Attorney. Maison Law offers a free consultation to all victims of employment violations.
It’s a no-risk way to understand the benefits available to you after you’ve been denied leave to care for yourself or your family or to observe your duty to your country. You may have been penalized for taking this important time away, and we can help you report this violation as well.
Contact Maison Law’s Labor Law Attorneys to schedule your confidential case review to find out about the benefits you may recover in a work leave claim.
Other California laws provide legally mandated work leave including:
- California Family Rights Act (CFRA)
- COVID-19 leave
- Domestic Violence
- Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
- Funeral
- Jury Duty
- Literacy Instruction
- Organ Donation
- Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL)
- Rehabilitation
- Sick Leave
- School Activities
- Victims of Crimes
- Voting
