California company supervisors can send their workers home to take care of their own serious health condition or to spend time supporting a family member when the worker requests the leave. The California Family Rights Act made the protection of a worker's right to take leave permanent.

No one can take away an opportunity to take family and medical leave.

The Lawmakers

Not all companies were willing to take the higher and more expensive road and give their workers family and medical leave before Assemblywoman Gwen Moore passed the California Family Rights Act in the state legislature in 1991 with Assemblymembers Roberti and Brown. Doubts about the right to take leave were settled by the new law that was amended in 1993 to fall in line with the more generous federal Family and Medical Leave Act. Ruling out leave plans is against the law. The lawmakers made it clear to California companies home responsibilities are more important than work responsibilities and keeping the company productive as usual.

Three Leaves

Supervisors have to support, not hold back, workers' plans to take time off work to spend on three responsibilities at home. Taking care of a serious health condition, and seeing a medical professional to get help if necessary, gets respected as an act that Californians have a right to do to make both their home life and work life stable as usual. Leave requests can not get taken lightly, or rejected. The law did not make the companies pay to keep their worker's income steady during leave, but it does make it the right thing to do to compromise and agree on unpaid leave time.

Workers in two other situations can also make a leave request. One that has a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition. And, one that has a new child to take care of. Newborns, adopted children and foster children are all a reason to take leave that the lawmakers signed a law to make accepted in business in California. Workers do not have to withstand the strain of staying on the job while they take care of their home responsibilities.

Twelve Work Weeks

The lawmakers made care for health and family good reasons for taking up to 12 work weeks of unpaid leave during 12 months. In one break from work or in two or more breaks. Californians on the job for at least 1,250 hours during the year before their leave will start can walk in their supervisor's door and ask for the days off. Smaller companies that keep less than 50 workers within 75 miles of a leave requester's worksite do not violate a law by refusing to let them take leave. But, the rest of California's companies can not fail to give them the home time.

Job Guaranteed

Careers are secure in California. Taking the time off work and losing the job position, or getting laid off, were too damaging to leave takers careers for the lawmakers to let happen. The law makes their job guaranteed. The company has to take a worker back when they return from leave ready to work and give them their old position, or at least one close to it in responsibilities, and in pay and benefits. Switching jobs to work for another company is not necessary.

Affordable Leave

The lawmakers gave leave takers the opportunity to stay comfortable during leave even though they are not earning their regular pay. Health benefits are available during leave. As long as the worker returns to the job at the end of leave, they can stay secure that their medical costs were covered. Losses in health benefits during just the time doctor's bills are due are not something Californians have to agree to before they get out the door at work.

No Shut Doors

All kinds of acts that make leave takers and their supporters worse off on the job are unlawful. Making a Californian pay for taking family and medical leave is prohibited by the CFRA. Fines and job losses are things workers do not have to experience. Companies can be turned in and punished if they close a door to a leave taker that is usually open to other workers. Discriminating against a worker back on the job when it comes time to give out assignments or pay raises is not treatment workers have to bear. They get both equal opportunities and equal treatment. When they apply for a new job, their next boss can not refuse to hire them.

The same protections are given to workers who support a leave taker in a claim to a right to take leave by giving information or testimony during an inquiry. The lawmakers made acts that serve an employer's interests, but not the worker's, unlawful.

Calling It A Day

Workers do not have to lose any work opportunities when they call it a day and go home to take leave. The California Family Rights Act gives them the full opportunity to get their life in order and come back to the job ready to handle all their usual responsibilities.

Source:

California Family Rights Act, in the Fair Employment and Housing Act (1993).