Family Medical Leave Act

FAMILY & MEDICAL LEAVE ACT

YOUR RIGHT TO JOB-PROTECTED LEAVE

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is federal legislation originally signed into law by President Clinton in 1993. The FMLA is a hallmark in the fight to protect and expand employees’ rights and to protect employees’ ability to equitably balance work with the demands of home and family life. This piece of legislation details a number of standards and essentially requires employers to provide employees with job-protected and unpaid leave for certain, qualified medical and family reasons. There are various provisions and requirements under the law, the most important of which are described below.

Eligible employees are entitled to 12 workweeks of leave in any 12-month period for any of the following family and medical reasons:

Birth and care of a child within a year of birth
Adoption and foster care placement of a child within a year of placement
Personal or family illness (spouse, domestic partner, child or parent)
Personal or family military leave (spouse, domestic partner, child or parent)
Twenty-six workweeks of military caregiver leave for injured family member in the military

EMPLOYEE ELIGIBILITY AND BENEFITS

While the FMLA does not apply to all employees, a majority of workers throughout the country are considered eligible for protection under the act. Factors such as the size of your employer, the time you’ve been employed and the nature of your leave can impact your eligibility. Our legal team can help you determine your eligibility, your rights and the applicable FMLA provisions or California laws that are relevant to your case.

The FMLA requires employers to provide eligible employees with various benefits during and after leave. For example, employees on leave are still permitted to be covered by group health insurance under the same conditions of employment. Employees also have the right to return to the same position or to one with equal pay, benefits and responsibility. As an employee, you are still protected from employer violations or employer retaliation.

CALIFORNIA FAMILY RIGHTS ACT (CFRA)

The state of California has also passed similar laws that permit employees to unpaid, job-protected leave for other qualified reasons, including attendance of a child’s school or educational activities. Equipped with 60 years of combined legal experience and always up to date on relevant employment laws, our Southern California employment attorneys can help you determine whether your particular reason for leave can be classified as a valid, qualified reason. By reviewing both federal and state laws, we can better represent you and your case.

The California Family Rights Act (CFRA) can be found in § 12945.2 of the codes. It was established in order to give parents the right to take leave after their child is born, after they adopt a child or take in a foster child, if a loved one is faced with a serious health condition or if the employee himself or herself is facing a serious health condition. Benefits provided by the CFRA include paid time off under some circumstances and freedom from being fired for taking time off of work for any of the aforementioned reasons. To learn more about CFRA, view our blog on Understanding the California Family Rights Act.

DISCUSS YOUR CASE WITH A SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EMPLOYMENT ATTORNEY

There is some variance in the FMLA and state laws that can impact your eligibility and rights. Therefore, we encourage you to find out more specific information that relates to your situation by requesting a free case evaluation with a Southern California employment lawyer from our legal team. We are here to help you understand your rights and whether you have a viable claim against your employer for failing to comply with the law. If you do have a potential case, our attorneys can fight aggressively on your behalf to ensure that you recover the damages and compensation to which you are entitled.

As a firm that staffs two Southern California employment lawyers on each case, we deliver personal attention to every client we have. Diefer Law Group, P.C., can provide you with an individualized, responsive and rewarding legal experience. We can also provide you with the reassurance that comes with knowing our highly experienced and capable attorneys are always hard at work on your behalf.

Contact a Southern California employment lawyer from our firm to begin learning more about your case.

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Diefer Law Group, P.C.

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(888) 301-7795

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