How to Manage Employee Leave Requests Under FMLA and CFRA in California

California is known for its complex employment laws. While these regulations are designed to protect employees, they also create compliance challenges for employers.

When state employment laws overlap with federal regulations, the entire process becomes even more complicated. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) are prime examples.

Your organization — and, specifically, its human resources department — needs to know how to manage employee leave requests that fall under both the FMLA and CFRA. Here’s how to proceed.

The Basics of FMLA and CFRA

Both the FMLA and CFRA provide job protections for employees who require leave due to personal medical conditions, family care responsibilities, or other qualifying reasons. While these two employment laws share similarities, there are also some key differences your organization must be aware of.

The FMLA is a federal act that grants eligible workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave within a 12-month period. If approved, the employee’s leave is job-protected, meaning they can’t be fired or terminated.

The CFRA also provides up to 12 weeks of job-protected, unpaid leave. Employees can request leave to bond with a new child, care for a qualifying family member with a serious health condition, address a serious health condition of their own, or take time off if disabled by pregnancy or childbirth.

Similarities and Differences Between the FMLA and CFRA

Although there’s a lot of overlap between the FMLA and CFRA, there are also several noteworthy differences your organization must be attuned to. The key provisions of the FMLA and CFRA are as follows:

Covered Family Members

Employees can take leave for reasons involving a broad range of family members under the CFRA. Covered family members include domestic partners, grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings. These relationships aren’t covered under the FMLA.

Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL)

The FMLA covers pregnancy-related disabilities. California requires employers to provide Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL), but the protection is separate from the CFRA.

Qualifying Reasons

Generally speaking, the CFRA includes broader provisions than the FMLA. One exception is military family members. The CFRA doesn’t contain any provisions specific to military relatives.

The FMLA allows employees to take leave under any “qualifying exigency” related to the fact that the person’s parent, daughter, son, or spouse is a covered military member and on active duty.

It also permits employees to take up to 26 weeks of leave during a single 12-month period to provide care for a next-of-kin service member with a serious illness or injury.

Employer Coverage

The Family and Medical Leave Act applies to businesses with 50 or more employees. Initially, the California Family Rights Act used the 50-employee standard. However, it was later amended and now applies to companies with five or more employees.

How to Manage Employee Leave Requests Effectively

Your organization needs to create a structured process for handling leave requests that claim benefits under the FMLA or CFRA. The following should constitute the main steps in your leave-management process:

Verifying Eligibility

The first step involves verifying that the employee is eligible for job-protected leave under the FMLA or CFRA. Both laws require an employee to work for your company for at least one year and log a minimum of 1,250 hours during the previous 12 months. If the person submitting the request meets both criteria, they’re eligible for leave.

Assessing Leave Qualification

Review whether the request falls under an approved category. Identify the condition listed and the family member or responsibility cited in the request. Some examples include family caregiving and bonding with a newborn.

Provide Required Notices

You’re required to inform the employee of their rights and obligations per the terms of both employment laws. Give the individual the appropriate notice and request any medical information needed to verify their claim (if applicable).

Coordinate With Benefits and Payroll

Notify your payroll and benefits teams so you can determine how the job-protected leave request impacts any other leave options. For example, some employees may elect to overlap their accrued vacation and sick hours with the job-protected leave so they can receive a paycheck for part of their absence.

Track the Employee’s Leave Usage

Maintain accurate records of the employees’ leave usage to prevent overlap or abuse. If they’re approaching the end of their authorized FMLA or CFRA leave period, notify them so they can decide whether to return to work or terminate employment.

As you can see, managing leave requests legally and efficiently can be challenging. An employment law attorney can help you create lawful processes and address any disputes that may arise.

The Interplay Between the FMLA, the CFRA, and Other California Leave Laws

California has additional leave protections that may interact with the FMLA and CFRA. Some leave-related employment laws you need to be aware of include the following:

• Paid Family Leave (PFL), which provides wage replacement benefits during family caregiving or bonding but doesn’t offer job protection
• Pregnancy Disability Leave, which ensures job protection for up to four months for pregnancy-related disabilities
• Kin Care law, which allows employees to use available sick leave to care for an ill family member

Some of these laws provide job protection. Others don’t offer job-protected leave, but they do allow employees to use large amounts of accrued sick time without incurring disciplinary actions from their employers.

Best Practices for HR Professionals for FMLA and CFRA Leave Requests

When processing FMLA and CFRA leave requests, your HR team should focus on:

• Creating clear leave policies
• Respecting the employee’s confidentiality when handling medical records and leave forms
• Staying up-to-date with regulatory changes

If your team has questions about how to apply FMLA and CFRA regulations to your leave policy, turn to an experienced employment law attorney for assistance.

Which Leave Law Applies?

Navigating the finer points of the FMLA and CFRA employment laws requires a well-structured approach that balances your company’s needs with your employees’ rights.

Review your current leave policies and make sure your human resources team thoroughly reviews all CFRA and FMLA-related leave requests.

Consult a Lawyer for Employers Today

When in doubt about creating workplace policies for requesting leave, talk to an employer attorney at Pearlman, Brown & Wax, LLP to ensure proper understanding of important compliance regulations.