Know Your Rights and Responsibilities Show
California Family Rights Act (CFRA)The California Family Rights Act (CFRA) authorizes eligible employees to take up a total of 12 weeks of paid or unpaid job-protected leave during a 12-month period. While on leave, employees keep the same employer-paid health benefits they had while working. Eligible employees can take the leave for one or more of the following reasons:
A serious health condition is an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that causes or requires:
Note Voluntary or cosmetic treatments are not "serious health conditions," unless inpatient hospital care is required because of unexpected complications. Routine preventive physical examinations are excluded. For a full explanation of the CFRA, you can read the Family Care and Medical Leave Fact Sheet. There are 4 major differences between the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA):
Note Under a 2007 California military spouse leave law, an employee who works 20+ hours per week for an employer with 25+ employees can take an unpaid leave of up to 10 work days while the military spouse is on leave from deployment. Some or all of this may run concurrently with exigency leave. California’s Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL)This law says employers with 5 or more employees must give you up to 12 weeks (3 months) of unpaid disability leave because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a related illness. California Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) also requires that employers supply you with a reasonable accommodation and transfer you to a less hazardous or strenuous job. However, employers can deny any reasonable accommodation request if they can prove it would be an undue burden. California’s Paid Family Leave (PFL)This law gives temporary disability insurance to those who take time off of work to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, parent, or registered domestic partner, or to bond with a new child. It is administered by the State Disability Insurance (SDI) program. It provides up to eight weeks of Paid Family Leave payments to eligible workers who take time off to care for family members. For details of Paid Family Leave, you can read more on the Employment Development Department website. Note: Before July 1, 2020, you could only have six weeks of PFL per year. Learn moreCan I be terminated while on disability in California?Employers cannot take any adverse employment action against an employee based on their disability. This includes laying off or firing an employee. However, employers are not prohibited from firing a disabled employee for a legitimate reason.
Is CA disability job protected?No. Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave provide wage replacement benefits only; they do not provide job protection. Your job may be protected under other employee leave laws, such as the FMLA or CFRA.
How long can an employee stay on disability in California?You can be paid benefits for a maximum of 52 weeks. For more information, review Calculating Disability Benefit Payment Amounts. To receive benefits, you must: File a claim for DI benefits using SDI Online or by mail.
Can your employer contact you while on shortQ: Can my employer contact me while on short-term disability? A: Yes. You are still an employee while on short-term disability. Your employer can contact you to inquire about your readiness to return to work, accommodation requirements or for other work-related issues.
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