Leaves of Absence, Accommodation, and Risk Management
Leave and accommodation items reward a step-by-step habit: identify the reason for the absence, test eligibility under each law, then sequence the laws rather than stacking them all at once.
FMLA and CFRA run concurrently: 12 weeks, 1,250 hours worked in the prior 12 months, and 12 months of service (FMLA adds a 50-employee/75-mile test; CFRA now reaches employers with 5 or more). Pregnancy Disability Leave is separate - up to four months (about 17 1/3 weeks) for a pregnancy-related disability, at employers with 5 or more, with no hours-worked requirement - and is followed by 12 weeks of CFRA baby bonding that must conclude within 12 months of birth. Because PDL is not 'hours worked,' it does not count toward the 1,250-hour test.
Paid sick leave requires at least 40 hours or five days per year, accruing one hour per 30 worked. Bereavement and reproductive loss leave (5 days each) now sit beside school-activity and kin-care rights.
Accommodation runs through FEHA's interactive process: notice, dialogue, and a documented search for an effective accommodation that does not impose undue hardship. Extended leave, reassignment, modified schedules, and equipment can all be accommodations.
Workers' compensation is no-fault and the exclusive remedy for work injuries; provide the DWC-1 claim form within one working day of knowledge.
Trap: assuming PDL requires 50 employees, or that FMLA and CFRA run back to back instead of concurrently.
Worked example: an employee with 10 months of service has no FMLA or CFRA rights, but if pregnant she may still have PDL rights and always has FEHA accommodation rights from day one.