“Family medical leave” laws are meant to protect employees who either have or have family members with “serious health conditions” who need to take leaves of absence. One of the main reasons for these laws is to protect individuals with conditions that disability laws do not cover. Only “disabling” conditions, not “serious health conditions” are covered by the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Federal Law

The federal Family Medical Leave Act requires most employers to allow their employees to take up to twelve weeks of leave to care for either their own “serious health condition” or those of family members.

Employers are required to return an employee to their former position (or an equivalent one) upon return from leave. They are also prohibited from retaliating or otherwise discriminating against employees who take family medical leave.

California Law

The California Family Rights Act (”CFRA”) is the state-law equivalent of the Family Medical Leave Act. In most respects, the law is identical to the Family Medical Leave Act.

However, the CFRA expressly excludes pregnancy as a “serious health condition” under the Act. This is because California has a separate Pregnancy Disability Leave law that provides sixteen weeks of leave to parents who qualify.

If you believe you have been discriminated against because you were denied or took family medical leave, we invite you to contact us today for a free consultation to discuss this and any other employment law questions you might have.