With the recent expansion of the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), employers and workplaces that did not previously concern themselves with CFRA now need to understand the ins and outs of CFRA. This includes knowing the complicated issues such as how CFRA works for pregnant employees to the basics such as who exactly is eligible for CFRA leave.

Covered Employers

Effective January 1, 2021, private employers of 5 or more employees within the United States are covered by CFRA. CFRA also applies to the California state and local governments as employers.

Covered Reasons for Leave

Eligible employees may take up to 12 weeks of CFRA leave for the following reason:

• Care for their own serious health condition;
• Care for certain family member’s serious health condition;
• To bond with a new child (by birth, adoption, or foster placement);
• For a qualifying exigency related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of an employee’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Armed Forces.

Eligible Employee

To be eligible for CFRA employees must meet 2 requirements in order to be eligible for leave for a covered reason. The employee must have worked for the covered employer for more than 12 months and worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months prior to their leave.

The requirement that the employer has at least 50 employees within 74 miles of the employee’s worksite was eliminated effective January 1, 2021.