www.
nchra
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IV. Checklist for Coverage
The following checklist may be helpful in determining when an employee may
take FMLA/CFRA to care for a sick parent:
Is the employee eligible for FMLA/CFRA?
•
Has he/she been employed for at least 12 months, at any time?
•
Does he/she have 1,250 hours of service for 12- month period prior to the date
the leave will begin?
•
Does the employer have more than 50 workers within 75 miles of the site where
the employee is assigned?
Does the employee have FMLA/CFRA entitlement to care for an aging parent?
•
Has he/she not already taken 480 hours of leave in the applicable 12-month
period? (Note that the 12-month period can be calculated on a rolling or
calendar year basis, but it must be clear in the employer’s policy which
calculation method it is using.)
Did the employee give timely notice of the need for leave
(30 days’ notice required for foreseeable leave; notice as soon as
practicable for emergencies or other unforeseen circumstances)?
Is the employee needed “to care for” a parent with a “serious health condition?”
•
If the employer requires a medical certification form, has that form been
completed and returned to employer?
[If the answer to each of the above questions is “yes,” then an employer is required
to provide the leave]
V. Conclusion
The provisions of the FMLA and CFRA that permit time off to care for parents
were enacted out of recognition that the percentage of elderly adults in the
care of their working children was growing, and it wished to relieve some of
the tension of conflicting demands on these working children from their job
and their ailing parents. To assist eligible employees who need time off – and
to avoid potentially expensive legal claims – employers need to understand the
care situations that qualify for FMLA/CFRA leave and have clear policies and
procedures to manage leaves within the law.
HR
Ms. Cotner is a Shareholder at Miller Law Group, a San Francisco firm devoted its
practice exclusively to representing business in all aspects of California employment
law and related litigation. Cotner has extensive experience representing employers in
all aspects of employment litigation, including wage and hour class actions and single
and multi-plaintiff wrongful termination, discrimination and harassment cases in state
and federal court. She has successfully defended employers before administrative
agencies on discrimination and wage claims and has co-chaired a patent trial defense
in federal district court. Ms. Cotner’s employment litigation experience is complemented
by a background in general commercial, intellectual property and antitrust litigation. Additionally, Ms. Cotner has
advised clients in a variety of workplace concerns, including terminations, handbook policies, wage and hour issues,
reasonable accommodations and leaves of absence.
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