FMLA and CFRA Leave Violation Attorneys in California
Reach Out to Goyette, Ruano + Ulmer
Taking protected medical or family leave should not cost you your job. If your employer denied your leave request, interfered with your ability to take leave, or took adverse action against you for using it, you may have a legal claim under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or the California Family Rights Act (CFRA).
Goyette, Ruano + Ulmer represents California employees whose leave rights have been violated. We assess your eligibility, review your employer's conduct, and pursue the full remedies available under state and federal law.
Your Rights Under FMLA and CFRA
Both the FMLA and CFRA provide eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for qualifying reasons. California's CFRA often provides broader coverage than the federal FMLA. Qualifying reasons for protected leave include:
- A serious health condition that affects your ability to work
- Caring for a spouse, child, parent, or under CFRA, a domestic partner or grandparent with a serious health condition
- The birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child
- A qualifying military exigency related to a family member's active duty status
Eligibility generally requires working for a covered employer (50 or more employees under FMLA; 5 or more under CFRA), at least 12 months of employment with that employer, and at least 1,250 hours worked in the prior 12 months.
What Qualifies as a Leave Violation?
Denial of Leave: Refusing or discouraging a qualified leave request without a lawful basis is a violation. This includes discouraging employees from making a request or delaying a response until the need for leave has passed.
Interference: Interference includes failing to provide required notices, miscounting leave, requiring more medical documentation than the law allows, or otherwise making it more difficult for an employee to exercise their leave rights.
Retaliation: Taking adverse action because an employee requested or took protected leave is prohibited. Adverse actions include termination, demotion, reduction in hours, and negative performance reviews that appear after a leave request.
Using Leave as a Negative Factor
Counting protected absences against an employee when making disciplinary or promotion decisions, even subtly, violates federal and state law.
Leave violations are not always immediate. An employee may take leave without incident but later be passed over for promotion, included in a reduction in force, or subjected to increased scrutiny when they return to work.
The Right to Return to Your Job
When your protected leave ends, you are entitled to return to the same position or a comparable one. Comparable means equivalent duties, pay, benefits, and working conditions. Placing you in a lesser role, demoting you, or eliminating your position while you are out on leave may constitute a violation.
What You Can Recover
- Back pay for wages and benefits lost because of the violation
- Reinstatement to your former or an equivalent position
- Front pay when reinstatement is not practical or appropriate
- Liquidated damages, which can double your recovery, for willful FMLA violations
- Attorney's fees and litigation costs
Speak With a California Leave Rights Attorney
If your employer interfered with your right to take protected leave or punished you for using it, you have legal remedies available. Deadlines apply, and waiting can limit your options.
Contact Goyette, Ruano + Ulmer to discuss your FMLA or CFRA leave claim
Yes, in several important ways. CFRA covers employers with as few as five employees, compared to 50 under FMLA. CFRA also covers leave to care for domestic partners, grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings, which are family relationships not covered by the federal law. California employees are typically entitled to the more protective standard when both laws apply.
In many situations, yes. Employers are often permitted to require employees to use accrued paid leave at the same time as protected leave. However, the rules differ between FMLA and CFRA, and your employer's own policies also apply. Using accrued paid leave does not reduce your 12-week protected leave entitlement.
Employers sometimes claim a position was eliminated during an employee's protected leave. When the timing of the elimination closely follows a leave request or return, this raises serious legal questions. The burden shifts to the employer to show the decision was part of a legitimate, independent business decision made for reasons unrelated to your leave.
FMLA claims generally must be filed within two years of the violation, or three years for willful violations. CFRA claims have their own administrative deadlines through the California Civil Rights Department. Because timelines vary, consulting an attorney promptly is important.
Yes. A serious health condition under CFRA includes mental health conditions that require inpatient care or continuing treatment by a health care provider. If your mental health condition meets that standard, you are entitled to the same job-protected leave as an employee dealing with a physical condition. Your employer cannot treat your leave request differently because it involves a mental health issue.
Employers have a legal obligation to notify eligible employees of their FMLA and CFRA rights. If your employer failed to inform you that your leave qualified for protection, and you suffered adverse consequences as a result, that failure can itself constitute interference with your leave rights. An attorney can evaluate whether the employer's notice failure affected the outcome of your situation.