FMLA and CFRA
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) give eligible employees protected, unpaid leave for a serious health condition, to bond with a new child, or to care for a family member with a serious health condition. Both laws guarantee that the worker returns to the same or an equivalent job at the end of leave.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- FMLA at 29 U.S.C. §2601 covers employers with 50+ employees in a 75-mile radius; CFRA (Gov. Code §12945.2) now covers every California employer with 5+ employees.
- Both laws give up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for serious health condition, child bonding, or family care in a 12-month period.
- The job restoration right is to the same or an equivalent position; demotion or pay cut on return supports an interference claim.
- Filing windows: three years to the CRD for CFRA under Gov. Code §12960; two years to federal court for FMLA (three if willful).
FMLA is federal law at 29 U.S.C. §2601 et seq. and applies to employers with 50+ employees within a 75-mile radius. CFRA is the California parallel at Gov. Code §12945.2. Since 2021, CFRA reaches every California employer with five or more employees, which is much broader than FMLA. Both laws provide up to 12 workweeks of leave in a 12-month period.
Example: A 41-year-old retail buyer takes eight weeks of CFRA leave to recover from cancer surgery. When she returns, the district manager has eliminated her position and offers her a stocking role at a 30 percent pay cut. That demotion can support a CFRA interference claim under Gov. Code §12945.2(t) because the law required restoration to the same or an equivalent position, not a worse one.
Filing window for a CFRA claim runs three years from the violation through a CRD charge under Gov. Code §12960. FMLA claims go to federal court within two years (three if willful). A California pregnancy and family leave attorney can sort out which statute and which deadline applies.
From our practice: CFRA is the broader statute and the one we usually lead with in California. The 5-employee floor and the three-year filing window make it more usable than FMLA, and the remedies overlap. The case to watch for is the soft-demotion return: the employer keeps the title but strips the duties or the territory. That move regularly clears the "equivalent position" test under §12945.2(t).
Attorney Advertising. Page reviewed by David M. Safvati, CA Bar #326605. This advertisement is the responsibility of Westview Law PC.
