SECTION 5: LEAVE ALLOTMENT AND LIMITATIONS
FMLA/CFRA
The FMLA and CFRA allow an eligible employee to take a maximum of 12 workweeks of leave in one 12-month period for one or more FMLA and/or CFRA qualifying reasons. The 12-month period begins with the first day the employee uses FMLA and/or CFRA leave and starts their “leave year” if the employee is taking leave on a continuous basis. In cases of intermittent leave, the “leave year” is established by the certification date even if the employee does not immediately have FMLA and/or CFRA absences. Each time an employee takes FMLA and/or CFRA leave, it is subtracted from his or her leave entitlement of 12 workweeks. If more than one qualifying reason for leave occurs within the leave year, the employee is only entitled to a total of 12 workweeks for all FMLA and/or CFRA qualifying reasons.
If all FMLA and/or CFRA leave time is not used within a 12-month
period, the unused time cannot
be carried over to the following leave year.
Pam takes four weeks of FMLA and CFRA leave beginning on October 19, 2014 to care for her child's serious health condition. Pam's 12-month leave year begins October 19, 2014 and ends October 18, 2015. On January 9, 2015, she again requests 12 workweeks of FMLA and CFRA leave to care for her spouse's serious health condition. Because it is still within the same leave year, only eight weeks of FMLA and CFRA leave are available. She would not be eligible for a new 12 workweek allotment until October 19, 2015 (provided all other eligibility requirements are met) but can use the remaining eight weeks.
If parents of a newborn are married and both are employed by the County, each is entitled to take 12 workweeks for the birth, care, adoption or foster care placement of a child ("bonding with a newborn"), subject to any previous family leave.
EXAMPLE
Sara works for the Department of Human Resources and her husband, George, works for the Fire Department. They are expecting a baby in October. In August, George requests two weeks of FMLA and CFRA leave to care for his mother's serious health condition. After the birth of the baby, George requests additional FMLA and CFRA leave to bond with his new child. Sara is entitled for up to four months of pregnancy disability leave for the period she is actually disabled by pregnancy. However, her doctor certified that she was actually disabled by pregnancy for only 8 weeks. After her pregnancy disability ends, Sara wants to take an additional 12 weeks to bond with her newborn.
ANALYSIS
George is entitled to 12 weeks of FMLA and CFRA leave during the leave year, which run together. Because George took two weeks of FMLA/CFRA leave to care for his mother, he has 10 weeks of FMLA/CFRA left to use to bond with his child.
Sara's FMLA leave ran concurrently with her PDL leave, which leaves her with 4 weeks of FMLA (12 weeks minus 8 weeks). Since CFRA and PDL run separately, Sara has 12 weeks under CFRA to bond with her child. Sara's remaining FMLA and CFRA time will run concurrently.
Special Limitations
-
An employee's rights to family leave for baby bonding expires 12 months after the child's date of birth or adoption or foster placement date. Beyond the one year period, the child has to have a qualifying serious health condition before FMLA and CFRA leave can be taken.
-
Under CFRA, leave for the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child must be taken in no less than two-week increments. However, the Act allows an employee to take less than two-week increments on two separate occasions.
FMLA Military Leaves
Military Caregiver Leave
The FMLA allows eligible employees to take up to 26 workweeks of Military Caregiver Leave in a single 12 month period to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness. The injury must have incurred in the line of duty, while on active duty within the last five years and for which the service member is undergoing medical treatment. The 12 month period begins on the first day the employee takes leave to care for a covered servicemember and ends 12 months after that date. If the employee takes less than 26 weeks of leave in the 12 month period, the balance is forfeited.
Unlike FMLA leave, the Military Caregiver Leave is applied on a per-injury, per covered servicemember basis. Thus an eligible employee may be able to take more than one Military Caregiver Leave to care for different covered servicemembers or for different injuries to the same covered servicemember.
However, no more than 26 combined work weeks can be taken in a single 12 month period. Leave taken to care for a covered servicemember, cannot be designated and counted as both Military Caregiver Leave and leave to care for a family member's serious health condition (even if the servicemember is the employee's spouse, parent or child). It is therefore important that the employer designate Military Caregiver Leave in the first instance.
Military Exigency Leave
Eligible employees are entitled to up to 12 workweeks in any 12 month period for Qualifying Exigency Leave. Qualifying Exigency Leave absences are combined with other FMLA-qualifying reasons to a maximum of 12 workweeks for each 12 month period.