Glossary

Term · California: Leave, Money, and Paperwork

California Family Rights Act

California's job-protection law for family leave. It lets eligible workers take unpaid, job-protected leave to bond with a new child or care for a family member.

In plain words

The California Family Rights Act, or , is a state law that protects jobs during some family leaves. It covers bonding with a new child, and it also covers caring for a seriously ill child, parent, spouse, or domestic partner. Eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks in a 12-month period. The leave is unpaid, but the job is protected. Employers with five or more workers are covered. A parent's leave for her own pregnancy is handled separately, under . The two can be used one after the other. is a separate state program that provides wage replacement while a worker is on certain leaves.

The deeper version

CFRA, codified at California Government Code section 12945.2, provides eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child, or for a of a child, parent, spouse, or domestic partner. It applies to employers with five or more employees, and eligibility generally requires at least 12 months of employment and 1,250 hours worked in the prior 12 months. CFRA runs alongside the federal , which has different eligibility rules and employer thresholds, and some leave may be designated under both. Pregnancy Disability Leave, under Government Code section 12945, is separate and covers the employee's own pregnancy-related disability. Enforcement is handled by the California Civil Rights Department.

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Sources

  • California Legislature — California Government Code section 12945.2 (California Family Rights Act)
  • California Civil Rights Department — California Family Rights Act: employee and employer guidance

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