California Family Leave: Know Your Rights Under CFRA, PDL, and Paid Family Leave Laws

California family leave laws provide job-protected time off for pregnancy, serious health conditions, or caring for close relatives. CFRA, PDL, and PFL differ in eligibility, coverage, and the types of employee leave each law permits in California.

By Brad Nakase, Attorney

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Table of Contents
1. CFRA (California Family Rights Act)
2. California’s PDL (Pregnancy Disability Leave)
3. California’s PFL (Paid Family Leave)

CFRA (California Family Rights Act)

A maximum of 12 weeks of unpaid or paid leave with job protection may be taken by qualified employees throughout the course of a twelve-month period under the CFRA (California Family Rights Act). Employees who are on leave retain their employer-sponsored health benefits. The following are some of the reasons why qualified workers may take leave under California family leave laws:

  • Birth, adoption, or entry into the care of a child.
  • To give a parent, spouse, or child who is critically ill care.
  • When a major health condition (SHC) prevents the worker from working.

A significant health condition is any disease, trauma, disability, or mental or physical state that results in or necessitates:

  • Any time frame for treatment or disability related to or after hospitalization
  • Any duration of incapacity that necessitates missing more than three successive calendar days of school, job, or other routine daily activities
  • Continuous care for an incurable chronic or long-term illness by a medical professional or under their supervision
  • Following an accident or injury, restorative dentistry or plastic surgery

Note: Cosmetic or voluntary procedures are not considered “severe health concerns,” unless unforeseen complications necessitate hospitalization for treatment. Regular physicals for preventive purposes are not included.

The CFRA (California Family Rights Act) and the FMLA (Federal Family and Medical Leave Act) differ in four key ways:

  1. The SHC (Serious Health Condition) of pregnancy

FMLA: Covered by the FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) as a serious medical condition.

CFRA: As an SHC, pregnancy is not covered in and of itself.  However, under California family leave policies, pregnant workers are entitled to a maximum of four months (sixteen weeks) of PDL (Pregnancy Disability Leave). Employers merely need to have five or more workers in order to be covered by this Act, and employees are not subject to a specific eligibility period.

  1. Domestic Partners with the Same Status as Spouses

FMLA: No coverage

CFRA: Designated domestic partners get the same CFRA coverage as spouses. Keep in mind that this can increase a domestic partner’s family leave under California family leave regulation.

  1. Due to active military deployment, the employee or a family member qualifies for “Qualifying Exigency.”

FMLA: When someone in the family (partner, child, or parent) is serving in active duty or has been informed of an upcoming call to serve in active duty as part of a contingency procedure, eligible FMLA workers have the right to a maximum of twelve weeks (three months) of leave for any kind of “qualifying exigency.”

CFRA: No coverage

  1. Support for Ill or Wounded Service Members

FMLA: Protected. During a twelve-month period, a worker who is a qualified service member’s partner, parent, child, or next of kin can use a total of twenty-six weeks of leave to take care of a qualified service person who is hurt or ill while on active service. Benefits to health are included.

CFRA: CFRA-covered if the family member includes a parent, spouse, or child.

Note: A 2007 California family leave regulation pertaining to armed forces spouse leave allows a worker who works more than twenty hours a week for a company with twenty-five or more employees to utilize up to ten days of unpaid leave while their military spouse is deployed. Demand leave may be used in conjunction with any or all of it.

California’s PDL (Pregnancy Disability Leave)

According to this California family leave program, employers who have five or more workers are required to provide a maximum of twelve weeks (three months) of disability leave (unpaid) if you are pregnant, giving birth, or have a connected illness. Along with providing adequate accommodation, California PDL (Pregnancy Disability Leave) mandates that employers move you to a less difficult or dangerous employment. Any suitable adaptation request, however, may be rejected by employers if they can demonstrate that it would place an unreasonable burden on them.

California’s PFL (Paid Family Leave)

This law provides temporary disability coverage to people who take leave from work to nurture a newborn or to care for a spouse, parent, child, or recognized domestic partner who is very ill. SDI (State Disability Insurance) is the program that administers it. For qualified employees who take leave to provide support for family members, it offers Paid Family Leave benefits for a maximum of eight weeks. Visit the Employment Development Department’s website to learn more about California family leave.

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