Los Angeles Family Leave Lawyer
Los Angeles Family Leave lawyer Cyrus Shahriari wants you to know that if you or a close family member has a serious health condition, you may be able to take an unpaid 12-week leave of absence from your job under the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and/or the state California Family Rights Act (CFRA).
Acceptable Reasons for Taking Leave
Eligible employees may take leave under FMLA or the CFRA in the following situations:
- To care for their own serious health condition.
- To care for an eligible family member* who has a serious health condition**.
- To care for a newborn, adopted, or foster child that has joined the employee’s family.
- Due to pregnancy-related illnesses, prenatal care, and child birth.
FMLA and CFRLA also covers Los Angeles employees who need occasional medical absences due to such medical conditions as migraines, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, and others.
*Eligible family members of the employee is defined under these laws as:
- Spouses
- Domestic Partners
- Children, including biological and adopted children, step-children, foster children, and legal wards. A “child” must be under the age of 18 or unable to care for themselves because of a mental or physical disability.
- Parents, including biological, adoptive, step, or foster parents, as well as a parent who had legal standing as the employee’s parent when the employee was a child.
**“Serious health condition” is defined under these laws as the employee or their family member having an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that requires continuing treatment by a medical provider or inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or rehabilitation facility.
Not All Employers are Required to Offer FMLA and/or the CFRA
Employees who work in companies with 50+ people who all work in a 75-mile radius of each other are eligible to take leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and/or the California Family Right Act (CFRA).
Public employees – including those in state, county, and city agencies – are also covered by FMLA regardless of how many employees there are.
The CFRA also covers all California public employees, regardless of how many employees work there.
As of Jan. 1, 2018, California Senate Bill 63, also known as the “New Parent Leave Act,” expands leave protections to companies that have at least 20 employees within a 75-mile radius of the company. The new law does not include companies with 75+ employees, as described above, which are already covered under FMLA and the CFRA.
Employees Who Are Eligible to Take Leave
To be eligible for leave under FMLA or CFRA, you must:
- Work for a covered employer as described above.
- Have worked for the company for at least 12 continuous months (this can include the time you are on leave).
- Have worked at least 1,250 hours before your leave. These are actual hours worked and do not include sick or vacation time.
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
- FMLA and CFRA entitle you (assuming conditions are met), to 12-weeks of unpaid leave. Most employers allow you to use your vacation and sick days so you may be able to get paid for at least some of your leave.
- If you have a serious health condition due to a pregnancy, you may be entitled to Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) in addition to FMLA and/or CFRA. Pregnancy Disability Leave is paid. Pregnancy itself is not considered a disability. See more about Pregnancy Disability Leave.
- Covered employers must allow you to take Family Leave if you are eligible to take it. The law also requires employers to continue to pay your benefits at the same rate as they were paying for them prior to your leave. When you return, you must be allowed to return to your same job or to one that is comparable to what you were doing.
- Under FMLA, your employer may request a doctor’s certificate indicating the severity of your condition and an approximate return date. It must make the request in writing.
- Under CFRA, your employer may request a doctor’s certificate but the doctor only has to verify a “serious health condition” and note the approximate date it started and an approximate return date. Unlike FMLA, your employer is not entitled to know what the health condition is or any other medical details.
What You May be Able to Recover if Denied Leave
If you are unlawfully denied leave you have the right to take, or if your employer fires you, refuses to pay your benefits as they always have, or refuses to give you your job back or provide a comparable job, you may be eligible to sue for damages.
Los Angeles Family Leave lawyer Cyrus Shahriari advocates for employees whose companies refuse to follow the law. You may be eligible for compensation for:
- Lost back wages and benefits.
- Lost front wages and benefits. (For example, if it took you a year to find another job, your employer might be required to pay you the lost wages and benefits you would have earned during that year.)
- Emotional Distress.
- Liquidated Damages. (Under FMLA these are equal to the amount you win in lost back and front pay.)
- Punitive Damages.
You Must File a Complaint by a Deadline
All legal actions have a deadline – statute of limitations – by which time you must file your case. If you don’t file a lawsuit by the deadline, you lose all rights to ever regain compensation for damages you may have suffered.
It makes sense to contact Los Angeles Family Leave lawyer Cyrus Shahriari as soon as possible. He may be able to advocate for you with your employer if your company is resisting giving you leave.
As your Los Angeles Family Leave lawyer, Cyrus Shahriari will collect evidence and statements from witnesses before they disappear or are lost.
Take the First Step
Contact Los Angeles Family Leave lawyer Cyrus Shahriari for a free, no-obligation, and confidential consultation so that you can learn about your legal options.
If you decide to take action against your employer – and if Cyrus Shahriari determines you have a case he can help you with – you pay no attorney fees until the case is resolved.