New Law 2018 – Parental Leave Requirement Expanded to Smaller Employers
If your business employees 20 to 49 employees, you must prepare for a significant change that many small businesses deem a significant burden – job-protected parental leave. On October 12, 2017, Governor Brown approved SB 63, which expands the leave requirements of the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) to employers who employ at least 20 employees within a 75 miles (down from the threshold of 50 employees). If your company does not have a parental leave policy, or has one that does not meet the requirements of the new law, the next couple of months is the perfect time to create one, updated your employee handbook, and establish a contingency plan on how you will cover for employees who may take anywhere between 3 to 7 months of leave. Here is a short outline of the new Government Code Section 12945.6’s requirements: Employers with at least 20 employees within 75 miles of the worksite must now do the following: 1. Provide up to 12 weeks of parental leave to an employee who has worked for the employer for more than 12 … Continue reading
California Pregnancy and Parental Leave Laws
A few weeks ago I discussed a new California law requiring employers to continue providing benefits to employees on pregnancy leave. Since then, I have received questions on parental rights in California. In response, today’s post will discuss 3 bodies of law that affect California employees’ parental leave rights. California’s Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) California Family Rights Act (CFRA) Contractual Rights California’s Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) California Government Code section 12945 makes it unlawful for an employer to deny reasonable leave, up to four months, to a female employee who is disabled by pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions. The leave may be intermittent (e.g., for doctor’s appointments or sporadic episodes of pregnancy related disability) up to a total of four months. The employee shall be entitled to utilize any accrued vacation leave during this period of time. The employee has a right to reinstatement to the same or substantially similar position. If the employee requests that the guarantee to reinstatement be in writing, the employer must do so. (Cal. Code, Regs., tit. 2, § 7291.9, subd. (a).) However, an … Continue reading