California family medical leave is made available by two different legislative acts. The first is the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the second is the California Family Rights Act (CFRA). Combined, these legislative measures give qualified California employees some of the best leave benefits in the country, particularly in the case of pregnancy, when California Pregnancy Disability Leave is added to the mix. Employee and employer qualifications are similar between FMLA and CFRA, but California’s Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) potentially makes more time available and decrements concurrently with FMLA, not so with CFRA. So as an example, a mother could take twelve weeks of qualified FMLA and PDL leave for her pregnancy and still have 12 weeks of CFRA remaining for bonding with the California Family Medical Leave package.
California family medical leave is an important consideration for many covered employers in the state. Certainly reports that the Department of Labor is increasing the annual number and frequency of audits, inquiries, and investigations is a contributing factor, as well as almost nightly newscasts regarding the increasing number of large dollar judgments being awarded due to a negligent employer’s improper handling of FMLA requirements. And the increasing cost of FMLA lawsuit defense, win or lose, has focused a great deal of employer attention on compliance with California family medical leave requirements.
California family medical leave was created to be a benefit for both employee and employer. Many covered employers are finding that, in fact, to be the case. Particularly those who have taken advantage of Qcera’s line of LeaveSource™ web-based, leave administration, and compliance systems. LeaveSource™ provides the assistance necessary for any covered employer to meet federal and state requirements, and even policies specific to a particular company. Qcera clients, which includes more than a dozen Fortune 500 Companies, administer more than a million employees using LeaveSource™ software. It’s a terrific solution for compliance with California family medical leave.
Compliance with California family medical leave is simple for small companies who choose to utilize the easy to implement solution provided by LeaveSource™ Express. Whereas a larger company will appreciate the scalable, fully-configurable, and robust reporting capabilities of LeaveSource™ Enterprise. Companies who would appreciate staying in touch with employees and initiating all leave requests will find great satisfaction with LeaveSource™ Entrust, the popular outsourcing hybrid. Click a product tab for additional information or request a demo, but don’t allow California family medical leave to be a business concern.