CMCP Diversity Matters - May/June 2018

NAVIGATING
CALIFORNIA’S
FAMILY LEAVE
LAWS
BY ARWEN JOHNSON, PARTNER and
NOAH PÉREZ-SILVERMAN, ASSOCIATE
BOIES SCHILLER FLEXNER LLP
INTRODUCTION
It is no great secret that the United States
falls far behind other industrialized nations
in its policies on maternity and paternity
leave; it is the only developed nation with
no mandated paid parental leave. Certain
states, including California, have taken
steps in the right direction by offering more
generous benefits to employees looking
to expand their families. The California
Family Rights Act (CFRA), the California
Paid Family Leave statute (PFL), the
Pregnancy Disability Leave statute (PDL),
and the more recently enacted “New Parent
Leave Act” all offer protections to certain
California employees in addition to those
offered by the federal Family Medical Leave
Act (FMLA).
All of these laws make California a more
attractive place to work and raise a
family, but can be complicated for
employers to implement, particularly as
our definitions of “family” evolve. This
article addresses some considerations
California employers should take into
account as they look to craft effective, fair,
and compliant leave policies.
OVERVIEW OF MANDATED
BENEFITS
California’s Employment Development
Department (EDD) has a website that
discusses the eligibility requirements for
the types of leave available to certain
employees. See, e.g., https://www.dfeh.
ca.gov/resources/frequently-askedquestions/employment-faqs/pregnancydisability-leave-faqs/pdl-cfra-fmla-guide/
1
Briefly, the main benefits available to
eligible employees, some of which run
concurrently, are:
1. The federal Family Medical Leave Act
(FMLA). The FMLA is a federal law
that provides qualifying employees
12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected
leave for a child’s birth, adoption,
or the start of foster care. 2 The
employer must have more than 50
employees within a 75-mile radius,
and to qualify, the employee must
have worked for the employer for at
least 12 months and have worked at
least 1,250 hours in the past year.
2. The California Family Rights Act
(CFRA). The CFRA is essentially
the California counterpart to the
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