When federal lawmakers initially passed the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), it was a revolutionary piece of legislation. The FMLA provides protection for workers who need to take an unpaid leave of absence from their jobs.
Under the FMLA, employees can potentially take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in qualifying circumstances. California enacted a similar law that expands the protections available to eligible workers under federal law.
What key differences make the CFRA more protective for employees than the FMLA?
More qualifying relationships
The FMLA allows people to take leave for their own medical issues and also to provide support for family members who require medical care. Under the FMLA, only spouses, children and parents in need of support provide a basis for unpaid leave requests.
Under the CRFA, the pool of qualifying family relationships expands substantially to include domestic partners, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings and anyone else with a family-like relationship with the employee.
Lower staffing requirements
Under the FMLA, a company generally needs to have 50 or more employees for a worker to have leave rights. Under the CFRA, a business only needs to have five or more employees for a worker to be eligible for leave.
Even if workers attempt to make use of their legal rights, their employers may deny them leave. Other times, employers may retaliate against workers who request unpaid leave.
Reviewing the law and their employment agreement can be beneficial for workers who need time off but do not want to risk their jobs to acquire it. If employers violate the rights extended to workers under the CFRA, the affected workers may have the right to take legal action in response.