Leaves That Apply to California Employees
California Pregnancy Disability Leave Act (PDL)
California Family Rights Act (CFRA)
California Family Sick Leave (CFSL)
California Paid Family Leave (PFL)
California Domestic Violence Prevention Leave
California Family School Partnership Leave
California Military Spouse Leave
Michelle Maykin Memorial Donation Protection Act
The following leaves are required to comply with California state law, and apply only to California employees.
This leave applies to expectant female employees. For normal pregnancies, the leave is limited to four months. For more complicated situations where the employee is disabled from the pregnancy, a maximum leave of four months may be taken.
This leave runs concurrently with the FMLA leave and is unpaid. However, PDL leave is available even if you are not eligible for or have no leave available under FMLA.
CFRA leave is very similar to FMLA leave: you may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period; you may continue your health care and life insurance coverages during your leave if you pay your employee share of the premiums; you will be reinstated to your previous or equivalent job and pay unless you do not return from leave as scheduled or if your position would have been eliminated had you not taken the leave.
CFRA leave differs from FMLA leave in the following ways:
- CFRA leave does not run concurrently with California's Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL), but is to be taken after the birth of the child. There is no requirement that mother or newborn be disabled, so CFRA leave can be added after PDL solely to bond with a new child.
- “Qualifying Exigencies” arising due to an employee’s spouse, child, or parent being in military active duty status or receiving a notice of an impending federal call to active duty is not covered under CFRA.
- To care for an ill or injured service member. This is covered under CFRA if the family member is a covered CFRA employee, i.e., a spouse, child, or parent. If “next of kin” is not within these categories, CFRA leave would not be exhausted when FMLA used. Furthermore, CFRA leave is only 12 weeks, so last the 14 weeks would be FMLA only.
- maximum possible combined leave for both pregnancy disability and CFRA would be four months plus 12 weeks (if there is no disability, the combined maximum would be six weeks plus 12 weeks).
CFSL is designed to provide employees with paid leave to care for a spouse/domestic partner, child, or parent. The pay you receive will be deducted from your accrued sick leave; in other words, if you use CFSL to care for an eligible family member, you will reduce the total amount of sick leave available for your own illness during the calendar year.
The maximum amount of CFSL you can use is equal to half of your accrued sick leave. You may not use family sick leave that has not yet accrued. There is no guarantee that your job will be protected under this leave, unless it runs concurrently with a job protected leave.
All Company employees that are residents of California are eligible for California Paid Family Leave. Coverage is automatic for employees who are enrolled in the California Voluntary Self-Insured Short Term Disability program (STD) or the State Disability Insurance (SDI) program.
PFL allows you to take paid time off in order to:
- Bond with a new child (your new child or the new child of your spouse or domestic partner),
- Bond with a child who you have adopted or has who been placed with you for foster care, or
- Care for a child, spouse/domestic partner, parent, grandchild, grandparent, parent-in-law, or sibling who has a serious health condition.
Highlights of PFL are:
- Coverage is automatic through payroll deduction
- Maximum of eight weeks of benefits in a 12-month period
- There is a seven-day waiting period before benefits are paid
- Benefits are taxable
- Paid Family Leave provides no job protection
PFL claims for bonding with a new child are limited to the first year after the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of the child.
A serious health condition means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition of a patient that involves inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility or ongoing care by a physician or practitioner. This includes any period of incapacity (e.g., inability to work, attend school, or perform other regular daily activities) or any subsequent treatment in connection with such inpatient care. Unless complications arise, cosmetic treatments, the common cold, influenza, earaches, upset stomach, minor ulcers, and headaches other than migraine, are examples of conditions that do not meet the definition of a serious health condition for purposes of Paid Family Leave.
How The Plan Works
California employees who are enrolled in the California Voluntary Self-Insured Short Term Disability program (STD) or the State Disability Insurance (SDI) program are required to pay for the cost of PFL coverage. Your contributions are deducted from your pay on a semi-monthly basis.
Similar to California short term disability benefits, you must apply for PFL by contacting the designated disability administrator, Lincoln Financial. You must provide documentation supporting your claim, such as birth certificate, adoption or foster care records, or a physician/facility certification for a family member's serious illness.
There is a seven-day waiting period before you can receive PFL benefits. The weekly benefit amount is calculated based on the calendar quarter with the highest earnings in your "base period." Benefits will be paid on a weekly basis, equal to the state disability plan benefit paid under the short term disability plan. If you have a partial week of PFL, the daily benefit amount will be 1/7th of the weekly benefit amount.
You may not receive PFL benefits for a medical condition of your own. If you have a medical condition that qualifies for short term disability, you may file a claim with Lincoln Financial for disability benefits.
PFL does not have to be used all at once, but may be taken on an intermittent basis. You may take up to a maximum eight weeks in a 12-month period. You are required to take FMLA and CFRA leaves at the same time as your Paid Family Leave. Unlike FMLA and CFRA, your job is not protected while you are taking PFL.
Exclusions And Limitations
Paid Family Leave benefits are not payable under the following conditions:
- If you are eligible for any state or federal unemployment insurance program
- If you receive any wages for work performed during your PFL
- If you are eligible to receive temporary disability benefits under Workers' Compensation or other similar state or federal law that is equal to or more than the PFL weekly benefit; however, if the PFL weekly benefit is greater than the temporary disability weekly benefit, the PFL benefit amount will be the difference between PFL benefit amount and the temporary disability benefit amount
- If you receive benefits under any state disability program or company-sponsored program in lieu of the state plan
- If another family member (i.e., a child, parent, or spouse/domestic partner) is able, willing, and available to provide the required care
- If you receive vacation pay during your PFL, unless your PFL is coordinated with your vacation pay
Requesting Paid Family Leave
Notify the leave administrator, Lincoln Financial, to initiate the leave of absence process and to obtain instructions on how to file your Paid Family Leave claim.
File a Paid Family Leave claim with Lincoln Financial, the California Voluntary Self-Insured Short Term Disability claims administrator at 1-844-243-7758 or online at the Lincoln Financial website. If you are in the California State SDI Plan you will contact the state directly at 1-877-238-4373 to request a Paid Family Leave claim form.
Complete and return all forms and applicable medical certifications that Lincoln Financial or SDI sends to you regarding your claim.
Please be aware that Lincoln Financial must confirm your base period earnings with the state before your benefit can be calculated; therefore, you may experience a delay in your first benefit payment (note: your initial payment will then include any prior weeks payments if such a delay occurs).
Under California law, employees may take unpaid time off for specified situations as a result of, or for the prevention of, domestic violence. The amount of allowed leave will coordinate with FMLA leave (i.e., your leave under this policy will also be considered an FMLA leave).
The Company will maintain the confidentiality of any employee requesting leave.
The Company allows you to take vacation or unpaid time off to attend activities at your child's school or day care facility. You are eligible for this leave if you are a parent, guardian, or grandparent with custody, of a child who is:
- In kindergarten or grades one through 12, or
- Attending a licensed child day care facility.
You may take up to eight hours per month, not to exceed 40 hours per calendar year.
California military spouse leave allows a qualified employee to take up to 10 days of unpaid leave while his or her spouse is on leave from active duty during a period of military conflict.
To qualify for this leave, you must meet the following conditions:
- You are the spouse or registered domestic partner of a "qualified member" as described below.
- You work at least 20 or more hours per week.
- You notify the Company within two business days of receiving official notice that your spouse will be on leave from active duty.
- You provide written documentation that the requested leave will occur during the period your spouse will be on leave from active duty.
A "qualified member" is a person who is any of the following:
- A member of the U.S. Armed Forces who has been deployed during wartime to an area designated as a combat theater or combat zone, or
- A member of the National Guard or Reserves who has been ordered to active duty during military conflict.
This leave does not affect your rights to other leaves or benefits to which you may be entitled.
California employees may take paid time off from work to be an organ donor or bone marrow donor. You may take a paid leave of absence for up to 30 days to donate an organ and up to five days to donate bone marrow.
- For a bone marrow donation, you must use up to five days of earned but unused sick leave or vacation leave, or a combination of both. Your regular pay will be continued in the absence of sick leave or vacation leave, or to make up the difference if you have less than five days of available sick leave or vacation leave.
- For an organ donation, you must use up to two weeks of earned but unused sick leave or vacation leave, or a combination of both. Your regular pay will be continued in the absence of sick leave or vacation leave, or to make up the difference if you have less than two weeks of available sick leave or vacation leave.
The leave may be taken in any one-year period. When you return to work from leave for organ or bone marrow donation, you will be eligible for the same position you held when your leave began, or an equivalent position. In addition, this leave will not affect your right to salary adjustments, sick leave, vacation, or seniority.
Your medical, dental, and vision coverage will continue—and be paid for by the Company—during the time you are on leave.
Time off for organ and bone marrow donations will not run at the same time as federal Family Medical Leave Act or California Family Rights Act leaves. For example, if you have a serious medical condition related to an organ donation, you would be eligible for both 30 days of leave for the organ donation and another 12 weeks of FMLA/CFRA leave for a serious medical condition related to your donation.