What workers and employers should know about California’s expanded family medical leave
In September, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 1041, which amends the state’s family care and medical leave law and applies to all state agencies and businesses with more than five employees.
The bill expands the class of people for whom an employee may take family care and medical leave to include a designated person, defined as any individual related by blood or whose association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.
For employees, here’s how much time (and whether it’s paid) you can take off to take care of family, including your designated person.
And for employers, here are the rights your employees have. One tip to avoid potential issues: Have a system in place to track your employees’ designated person and update your policies regarding vacation time and sick leave.
Reasons to take family medical leave
Under the law, family care and medical leave can be taken up to 12 workweeks in a calendar year. Reasons to take family medical leave can include
Adding children to the family via birth or placement of a child from foster care or via adoption.
Providing care to a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, domestic partner, or designated person who has a serious health condition.
An employee’s own serious health condition that prevents them from performing their job functions, except for pregnancy or childbirth, or related medical conditions.
In addition, California’s Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 generally allows employees to use paid sick days for diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition of, or preventive care for, an employee or an employee’s family member. AB 1041 expands the definition of the term “family member” to include a designated person.
Defining a serious health condition
According to the bill, it’s an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential health care facility, or continuing treatment or continuing supervision by a health care provider.
In addition to family medical leave the California Family Rights Act provides for five days of bereavement leave. These days do not need to be taken consecutively and is unpaid, though employees would be allowed to use accrued paid sick or vacation days.
Who counts as a family member under the law?
The law provides guidance around defining family members that qualify for family medical leave. They include:
Child means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, a child of a domestic partner, or a person to whom the employee stands in loco parentis.
Parent means a biological, foster, or adoptive parent, a parent-in-law, a stepparent, a legal guardian, or other person who stood in loco parentis to the employee when the employee was a child. Parent-in-laws include parents of a spouse or domestic partner.
Sibling means a person related to another person by blood, adoption, or affinity through a common legal or biological parent.
Designated person means any individual related by blood or whose association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship. The designated person may be identified by the employee at the time the employee requests the leave. An employer may limit an employee to one designated person per 12-month period for family care and medical leave.
I’m an employer, do I have to pay employees on leave?
Not necessarily. The law says employers aren’t required to pay an employee for family care and medical leave.
But an employee may elect, or an employer may require, to substitute leave for accrued vacation time or time off, or any other paid or unpaid time off. If an employee takes leave because of their own serious health condition, they may also elect, or the employer may require, to substitute accrued sick leave.
Paid sick days can be used by employees under the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014.
Can workers be terminated before they return from leave?
No. Under the law, employers must provide the employee guaranteed employment in the same or a comparable position upon the termination of the leave.
Also, employers must maintain and pay for coverage under a group health plan and employees can continue to participate in employee health and benefit plans while on leave. Employees on leave must return with no less seniority than they had when the leave started.