CFRA and FMLA at a glance
The California Family Rights Act (CFRA), Gov. Code § 12945.2, applies to employers with five or more employees. You're eligible once you've worked there at least 12 months and at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before leave. Unlike the federal law, CFRA doesn't require 50 employees within 75 miles of your worksite.
The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) applies to employers with 50 or more employees and has similar eligibility rules. In many cases CFRA and FMLA run at the same time.
Eligible employees may take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period to:
- Recover from your own serious health condition
- Care for a family member with a serious health condition. CFRA covers a child, parent, parent-in-law, spouse, registered domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or a designated person
- Bond with a new child by birth, adoption, or foster placement
- Handle qualifying exigencies related to a family member's military deployment
Leave can be taken all at once or intermittently, for example for chemotherapy, dialysis, physical therapy, or flare-ups of a chronic condition. Group health coverage must continue during leave on the same terms.
Other California leave rights
- Pregnancy Disability Leave: up to four months per pregnancy, separate from CFRA (Gov. Code § 12945).
- Disability accommodation leave: additional leave can be a reasonable accommodation under FEHA even after CFRA or FMLA is used up.
- Paid sick leave: at least 40 hours or five days per year for most employees (Labor Code § 246), usable for your own or a family member's health needs, with protection from retaliation.
- Bereavement leave: up to five days for the death of a family member (Gov. Code § 12945.7).
- Reproductive loss leave: up to five days following a miscarriage, failed adoption or surrogacy, stillbirth, or unsuccessful assisted reproduction (Gov. Code § 12945.6).
- Military and family military leave under USERRA and California law.
- Kin care, school activity, and crime victim leave under various Labor Code provisions.
Wage replacement for some leave may be available through California State Disability Insurance (SDI) and Paid Family Leave (PFL), administered by the EDD.
Common leave violations
- Interference: denying eligible leave, discouraging you from taking it, miscounting your leave, demanding excessive medical information, or failing to tell you about your rights.
- Pressuring you to work during leave: calls, emails, and assignments that turn protected leave into unpaid work.
- Failure to reinstate: refusing to return you to the same or a comparable position when leave ends.
- Retaliation: discipline, demotion, or termination because you requested or took leave, including counting protected absences against you in attendance policies.
- Position "eliminated" while you were out: only lawful if it genuinely would have happened regardless of leave.
Not sure if what happened to you is illegal?
Tell us what happened. Scott and David review every inquiry personally, at no cost and with no obligation.
Get a free case reviewWhat you can recover
- Lost wages and benefits
- Emotional distress damages and punitive damages under CFRA (as part of FEHA)
- Liquidated (double) damages under the FMLA in many cases
- Reinstatement
- Attorney fees and costs
Deadlines
- CFRA: three years to file with the California Civil Rights Department, then one year after the right-to-sue notice.
- FMLA: two years to file in court, or three years for willful violations. No agency filing is required.
How to request leave and protect your job
- Give notice early. For foreseeable leave, give at least 30 days' notice when practical; otherwise, as soon as you can. You don't have to say "CFRA" or "FMLA"; describing the reason is enough.
- Put the request in writing and keep a copy, along with any response.
- Return the health care provider certification on time. Employers usually must give you at least 15 days.
- Ask how your leave is designated and confirm your expected return date and position in writing.
- Don't do work while on leave beyond brief handoff questions, and keep a record if you're pressured to.
- Apply for SDI or Paid Family Leave through the EDD for wage replacement.
- Call us if you're denied leave, not reinstated, or disciplined during or after leave.
How your case works with us
Most employees have never hired a lawyer before. Here's what working with us looks like, from the first call to resolution.
- Free, confidential consultation. We listen to what happened, review any documents you have, and tell you honestly whether you have a claim, which laws apply, and which deadlines matter.
- Investigation. We gather your personnel file, payroll records, and communications, identify witnesses, and request records your employer is legally required to provide.
- Agency filings, when required. For claims under FEHA, we file with the California Civil Rights Department and obtain a right-to-sue notice so your case can proceed in court.
- Demand and negotiation. Many cases resolve through a demand letter, early negotiation, or mediation, without a trial.
- Litigation, if needed. If your employer won't do right by you, we file suit and are prepared to take the case through discovery and trial or arbitration.
Fees. Most employment cases are handled on a contingency basis. You pay no attorney fees unless we recover money for you, and many California employment laws require the employer to pay your attorney fees if you win.