The Essential Guide to Family & Medical Leave

chapter 1 | an overview of Family and medical leave | 11
Here are some of the other laws that might also apply to an employee
who takes FMLA leave (Chapter 11 explains each in detail; you can find
information on each state’s leave laws in Appendix A):
• Antidiscrimination laws, which prohibit discrimination based on certain
protected characteristics. The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
and similar state laws might come into play if an employee’s serious
health condition is also a protected disability. Laws that prohibit gender
and pregnancy discrimination sometimes also overlap with the FMLA.
• Workers’ compensation statutes, which require most employers to carry
insurance that pays for medical treatment and partial wage replacement
for employees who suffer work-related injuries or illnesses. An employee
who needs workers’ compensation leave almost always has a serious
health condition under the FMLA, as explained in Chapter 11.
• State leave laws, which require employers to give time off for specified
reasons. Some states give employees the right to take pregnancy disability
leave, parental leave, or other types of family and medical leave. If the
employee takes leave for a reason that’s covered by both state law and the
FMLA, you can count that time off against the employee’s allotment of
FMLA hours. However, if state law provides leave that isn’t covered by
the FMLA, you can’t count those types of leave against the employee’s
FMLA entitlement—which means that the employee might be legally
allowed to take more than 12 weeks off. (See Appendix A for detailed
information on state family and medical leave laws.)
• State insurance programs, which provide some wage replacement, usually
funded by payroll deductions, for employees who are unable to work
due to a temporary disability (including pregnancy and childbirth).
California also has a paid family leave insurance program, which provides
similar benefits to employees who take time off to bond with a child
or care for a family member. An employee on FMLA leave might be
entitled to some compensation from this type of program.