California Expansion of FMLA

Beginning January 1, 2021, the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) that was recently amended by the signing of Senate Bill 1383 will take effect.  This bill’s expansion now includes employers with five or more employees, and will require them to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid protected leave during a 12-month period to eligible employees for qualifying reasons. They must also extend the definition of family members to grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings.  This is one element that distinguishes the CFRA from the Federal FMLA; under the Federal FMLA, it does not currently include grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings as family members.

For further details, please reference this link to California’s legislative information page http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB1383.