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What we need to know about CFRA(California Family Rights Act)


California Family Rights Act also known as CFRA, was modified in 1993 to coincide with the employer and employee qualification requirements of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Covered employers have fifty or more employees within a 75-mile radius under either Act. Qualified employees must have worked for their employer for at least a year and must have accrued at least 1,250 hours of work within the past 12 months before the leave date begins. The State of California and any of its civil or political subdivisions, as well as cities and counties, regardless of the number of employees are covered employers under the California Family Rights Act.

The California Family Rights Act decrements leave availability in similar fashion to FMLA. CFRA includes care for a domestic partner with a serious medical condition and FMLA does not. However, another important deviation comes in the case of pregnancy. CFRA does not decrement available leave time for an employee’s pregnancy disability and it does make time available for bonding. California has Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) which also provides time for use during pregnancy. So, for example, a woman could use twelve weeks of qualified PDL and FMLA leave time for prenatal, birth, and recovery from a C-section and then, up to another 12 weeks under CFRA for bonding with her newborn child. With doctors orders, PDL could add more than 5 additional weeks of qualified leave to the scenario. This can be a common scenario with regard to pregnancy, PDL, FMLA, and the California Family Rights Act.

The California Family Rights Act, like many state-initiated legislations that attempt to supplement or increase coverage of federal FMLA can cause confusion for covered employers. But with increasing numbers of DOL investigations, awards for FMLA-related lawsuits, and cost increases for FMLA lawsuit defense there doesn’t appear to be a better time to make sure that FMLA compliance for covered employers is appropriate. Qcera created LeaveSource™ software just for that purpose more than thirteen years ago. Qcera clients successfully administer to more than a million employees on a daily basis. More than a dozen of those clients are Fortune 500 Companies that aren’t interested in failing to comply with the California Family Rights Act.

FMLA and the California Family Rights Act are easily complied with, by companies utilizing Qcera’s web-based LeaveSource™ software. LeaveSource™ has federal and state regulations handling integrated right into the daily task administration system. Even company-specific policies are handled seamlessly. Express for small companies. Enterprise for medium to large companies. And LeaveSource™ Entrust for companies who would like to initiate leaves, but forego the back office hassle of notifications, certifications, and ongoing communication through return to work. Get more information by clicking on the appropriate product tab, or request a demo for a test drive. No matter what product you choose, concerns with the California Family Rights Act will quickly become a distant memory.