The Essential Guide to Family & Medical Leave

268 | the essential guide to family and medical leave
Example 1: Joan works for a company in California. She and her domestic partner,
Betty, are expecting a baby in a couple of months; Joan is carrying the baby. Joan’s
doctor puts her on bed rest for the last four weeks of her pregnancy. Joan also wants
to take some parental leave after the baby is born. What are her leave rights?
Under California law, Joan can take up to four months of pregnancy disability
leave, taken concurrently with her 12 weeks of FMLA leave. However, she gets an
additional 12 weeks of leave under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), which
doesn’t cover pregnancy disability. If Joan is disabled for the last four weeks of her
pregnancy and another four weeks after the baby is born, she has used up eight
weeks of FMLA leave. However, she is still entitled to 12 weeks of CFRA leave, which
she can use for any purpose covered by that law—including parental leave. This
means Joan can take 24 weeks off in one block and still be entitled to job reinstatement
(12 weeks of FMLA and pregnancy disability leave, plus 12 more weeks of
CFRA leave). In fact, if she is disabled by pregnancy and childbirth for the full four
months, she can take seven months of job-protected leave before returning to work
(4 months of pregnancy disability leave, the first 12 weeks of which are also FMLA
leave, plus 12 more weeks of CFRA leave).
During the eight weeks when she is covered only by the FMLA and California’s
pregnancy disability leave statute, Joan’s employer can require her to comply with the
FMLA’s notice and certification requirements. Once the CFRA kicks in, however, her
employer can require her to comply only with its more lenient notice and certification
requirements—even during the four weeks when she is also covered by the FMLA.
Example 2: Carla works for a company in Hawaii. Carla’s boyfriend batters her son,
who is hospitalized for his injuries. Under Hawaii law, Carla is entitled to up to 30
days of unpaid leave per year to deal with domestic violence issues. Hawaii also has a
comprehensive family and medical leave law, which allows employees to take up to
four weeks off per year to care for a family member with a serious health condition.
What are Carla’s leave rights?
If Carla takes three weeks off to care for her son, that time counts against her state
family and medical leave entitlement, her FMLA entitlement, and her domestic violence
leave entitlement. If, after her leave is over, Carla needs an additional week off
to relocate her family and seek a restraining order against her boyfriend, that leave is
not protected by either the FMLA or Hawaii’s leave law. However, it is protected by