FMLA and CFRA Lawyer in Glendale, CA

FMLA vs. CFRA: How California Law Differs from Federal Law

California employees are covered by two overlapping leave laws. Understanding which applies and how they interact determines the full scope of your protected leave.

California’s Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) adds up to four months of protected leave for pregnancy-related conditions, separate from CFRA child bonding leave. An eligible pregnant employee may use PDL first, then follow it with 12 weeks of CFRA leave, resulting in substantially more than 12 total weeks of protection.

Qualifying Reasons for FMLA and CFRA Leave

Both laws protect leave taken for specific reasons. An employee does not need to use the words “FMLA” or “CFRA” when requesting time off. All the employee needs is to provide enough information for the employer to identify a qualifying reason is sufficient.

Covered reasons include:

• Your own serious health condition that makes you unable to perform essential job functions.
• Caring for a child, spouse, registered domestic partner, or parent with a serious health condition.
• Under CFRA only: caring for a sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or designated person with a serious health condition.
• Bonding with a newborn, adopted child, or child placed in foster care (leave must be taken within one year of placement).
• A qualifying exigency related to a family member’s active military deployment.
• Under FMLA only: caring for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness (up to 26 weeks).

A “serious health condition” under both laws means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves inpatient care or continuing treatment by a healthcare provider. Chronic conditions, including depression, anxiety, migraines, and diabetes, can qualify when they require periodic treatment.

Fired or Punished After Medical Leave?

California sets strict deadlines for FMLA and CFRA claims. The sooner you act, the more options you have.

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How Employers Violate FMLA and CFRA

Violations of the FMLA and CFRA do not always take the form of an outright denial of requested leave. Employers frequently violate these laws in ways that are harder to recognize:

Denial and interference:

• Refusing to approve leave for a qualifying reason.
• Failing to notify the employee that their absence qualifies for protected leave.
• Requiring more notice or documentation than the law allows.
• Counting protected leave absences against attendance policies.
• Terminating an employee before the leave period ends.

Retaliation after leave:

• Firing or laying off an employee shortly after their return.
• Demoting the employee or reassigning them to a less favorable position.
• Reducing pay, hours, or benefits following leave.
• Issuing negative performance reviews that began after the leave request.
• Creating a hostile work environment upon the employee’s return.

Retaliation does not always occur immediately. An employer may allow the employee to return, then use performance documentation written during or after the leave to justify terminating the employee months later. California courts examine the timing, consistency of prior reviews, and whether comparable employees were treated the same way.

Reinstatement Rights

At the conclusion of FMLA or CFRA leave, an employer must restore the employee to the same position or an equivalent one, with the same pay, benefits, hours, and working conditions. Offering a lesser role, a different shift, or reduced hours violates the law’s restoration requirement.

If the employee returns with a disability, California law requires the employer to provide a reasonable accommodation under FEHA, independent of the employer’s reinstatement obligation under the leave law.

Compensation Available in FMLA and CFRA Claims

When an employer violates FMLA or CFRA, the employee may recover:

• Lost wages, including back pay for the period of unlawful termination or demotion.
• Future lost earnings when reinstatement is not feasible.
• Lost benefits (health insurance, retirement contributions, accrued leave).
• Emotional distress damages under CFRA claims pursued through FEHA.
• Liquidated damages equal to lost wages and benefits under FMLA (when the violation was not in good faith).
• Attorney fees and litigation costs.
• Reinstatement to the same or equivalent position.

Filing Deadlines

Missing a deadline, though, eliminates your claim regardless of its merits.

Filing with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) is required before pursuing a CFRA claim in court. Contact our experienced attorneys before filing anything because the agency you file with and the order of filing can affect the remedies available to you.

Common Situations That Support a Claim

FMLA and CFRA claims arise in situations that most employees do not immediately recognize as violations.

• Fired during or immediately after leave. Termination while on approved medical leave, or within weeks of returning, is one of the most direct forms of interference. The employer bears the burden of showing a legitimate, pre-existing reason unrelated to the leave.
• Leave request triggers a sudden performance review. An employee with no documented issues begins receiving criticism after notifying the employer of a need for leave. The timing is legally significant, and courts treat it as evidence of retaliation.
• Employer claims leave was not approved. Employees do not need formal approval, but only need to provide enough information for the employer to recognize the qualifying reason. Employers cannot deny leave by claiming the paperwork was not completed when they had notice of the circumstances.
• Return to a different position. An employee returns from leave to find their role restructured, their shift changed, or their duties significantly reduced. These changes violate the law’s restoration requirement when they result in materially worse conditions.
• Medical leave counted against attendance. Some employers apply attendance policies that treat FMLA and CFRA absences the same as unexcused absences. Using protected leave against an employee in any disciplinary calculation is illegal.
• Leave exhausted, employee terminated before accommodation was considered. When an employee’s leave ends and they still cannot return to full duty, California law requires the employer to evaluate whether a reasonable accommodation is available under FEHA before terminating the employment relationship.