Expansion in Family Leave for Workers under the California Family Rights Act
Pursuant to SB-1383 regarding unlawful employment practices under the California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”), effective January 1, 2021, the minimum employee restriction is significantly reduced for employees to be granted up to 12 weeks of unpaid protected leave during any 12-month period to bond with a new child of the employee or to care for themselves or their family. Previously, the CFRA allowed employers with less than 50 employees within a 75-mile radius of the employee’s worksite to deny this leave to employees that would otherwise be eligible for the same under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”). However, SB-1383 expanded the CFRA to now make it an unlawful employment practice for any employer to deny such requested leave when the employer has only 5 employees or more.
Accordingly, as of January 1, 2021, employees previously deemed ineligible for this 12-week protected leave due to minimum employee restrictions are now able to take family and medical leave under CFRA so long as the employee has 1,250 hours of service with the employer in the previous 12-month period.
Additionally, under the previous CFRA rules, as well as under current FMLA rules, an employer could limit leave for the birth, adoption, or foster care placement when both parents were employed by the same employer, such that the two parents were granted a combined total of 12 weeks of leave in a 12-month period. However, as of January 1, 2021, the CFRA no longer allows employers to impose this limitation and both parents employed by the same employer will be entitled to a full 12 weeks of bonding leave.
For further information regarding recent changes to the California Family Rights Act, please visit: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB1383. If you have questions regarding these new CFRA provisions, or any other employment-related matter, please contact MOBO Law, LLP.
Attention Contractors – Updated CA and NV Contract Packets
MOBO has just completed a significant overhaul of our California and Nevada contractor packets to meet the new state and federal requirements for this year. They are also easier for you and/or your staff to complete.
We are strongly encouraging our clients to update their contractor packets this year. The flat rate to update your existing packet with a whole new suite of documents costs $695 for the first state packet and $495 for the second state. If you or another contractor needs to purchase the packet for the first time, we charge a flat rate of $1,995 for the first state and $995 for the second state. Whenever an update is needed or requested in the future, you will then benefit from the reduced rate we charge for updates.
If you need a new or updated contract packet for California and/or Nevada, please contact MOBO paralegal, Shell Cook at (530) 214-8700 or cook@mobolaw.com. We can generally have them to you within a couple days. Thank you for your business.
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