EMPLOYEE LEAVE ATTORNEYS IN TEMECULA, CALIFORNIA

Even the most loyal and dependable employee will occasionally need to take time off from work. Often, this is short-term due to a sickness or planned vacation, but other times employees need more extended periods of time off. The good news is there are federal and state laws that protect employee leave rights, but they don't cover everything, and it’s often time off that isn’t paid.

Sometimes employees are denied leave benefits or suffer negative employment action when they exercise their rights to these protections. Approximately 12% of employees say that they lost seniority or potential for advancement due to their leave.

If you feel that you’ve been treated unfairly by your employer or that your employer has failed to uphold leave policies, call us at Robinson Bradford LLP today to discuss your options. We’re able to serve clients from our three locations in Stockton, Temecula, and Costa Mesa, California.

EMPLOYEE LEAVE UNDER THE FMLA

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is federal legislation that was passed in 1993. It’s intended to provide eligible employees with unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family and medical needs. It also requires employers to continue any employer-sponsored healthcare for the duration of the leave as if the employee was still working full time.

FMLA guidelines must be followed by all public employers, all public or private elementary or secondary schools, and all private-sector employers with over 50 employees. Employees must have worked there for at least 12 months and have worked at least 1,250 hours during this time to be eligible for benefits.

Eligible employees may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the following reasons:

• The birth of a child, or the placement of a child to an adoptive or foster parent,

• To care for an immediate family member who has a serious medical condition,

• If the employee is suffering from a serious health condition that prevents them from doing their job such as a disability or severe illness, or

• For any event due to an immediate family member’s active duty military service or call to active duty military service.

USERRA

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) protects the rights of military service members and veterans to return to their civilian jobs after a period of uniformed service. USERRA ensures that service members are not discriminated against when they return to civilian life and are promptly re-employed in their previous position.

STATE LEAVE LAWS

California has a number of state laws that protect employee leave. However, there are still many instances when employers are not legally required to provide these benefits:

• Holiday: California employers are not required to provide time off for holidays.

• Sick: Employees who have worked for more than 30 days for their employer are entitled to some sort of sick leave, which is usually one hour earned for every 30 hours worked.

• Vacation: Typically, employers will have their own policies for vacation time such as accruing time off, but there is no state law outlining requirements for this.

• Voting: Under state labor law, employers must provide employees enough time to vote if they cannot reasonably vote outside of their work hours. This is typically for two hours.

• Jury Duty: Most employers will allow employees time off for jury duty with enough notice, although this may not be paid time off.

• Bereavement: There is currently no state law requiring California employers to provide bereavement leave, though some employers may have their own policies pertaining to this.