California law recognizes that employees sometimes need time away from work to care for themselves or their families — without fear of losing their jobs. The California Family Rights Act (CFRA) guarantees eligible employees the right to take job-protected leave for qualifying medical and family reasons. Employers who deny or interfere with this right violate California law.

Under CFRA, eligible employees — generally those who have worked for a covered employer for at least 12 months and 1,250 hours — may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for:

• Their own serious health condition;

• The serious health condition of a child, parent, spouse, or registered domestic partner;

• The birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child; or

• Certain qualifying exigencies related to a family member’s military service.

CFRA also works alongside the Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) law, allowing eligible employees to combine both types of leave in some cases for extended protection. Importantly, CFRA applies to private employers with five or more employees, making it far broader than the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

An employer may not deny, interfere with, or retaliate against an employee for requesting or taking protected CFRA leave. Common violations include:

• Refusing to grant eligible leave or misclassifying a request as unprotected;

• Requiring employees to work or check in during leave;

• Terminating or demoting an employee for taking leave; or

• Failing to reinstate the employee to the same or a comparable position upon return.

When an employer unlawfully denies or interferes with CFRA rights, the employee may recover lost wages, benefits, emotional distress damages, and attorney’s fees, and may also seek reinstatement.

At Levine Labor Law, we help employees assert their right to protected medical and family leave — and hold employers accountable when they punish workers for putting health and family first.