|
California Expands Family and Medical Leave
Rights
March 2001
Calabasas, California – California again takes the lead in the expansion
of employee rights under state and federal mandated leave laws. Although as
many as 13 states are currently considering ways to put dollars into unpaid
Family and Medical leaves (including using Unemployment Compensation Funds as a
potential source for paid family and medical leave), California has already
taken action in a unique way that directly impacts employer benefit costs.
Assembly bill 109 became law on July 23, 1999.
This addition to California law requires that all employers who provide ‘sick
leave’ to employees to allow those employees to take time off to care for an
ill child, spouse, or parent and to be compensated under the sick leave plan on
the same basis as if the employee were ill. Each year the employee can use paid
or unpaid sick leave time equal to the amount of time the employee would accrue
in a six-month period at the employee’s then current rate of accrual.
All employers - public and private are covered to
the extent that they provide sick leave that could be used for any of the
following reasons:
-
The employee is physically or mentally unable to perform his or her duties due
to illness, injury, or a medical condition of the employee.
-
The absence is for obtaining professional diagnosis or treatment for a medical
condition of the employee.
-
The absence is for other medical reasons of the employee, such as pregnancy or
obtaining a physical examination.
As defined by this law, ‘sick leave’ does not include:
-
Unemployment
compensation disability benefits (California SDI) and by extension, benefits
under a California Voluntary Plan
-
Any benefit provided
under an employee welfare benefit plan subject to ERISA (this includes most
Short Term Disability insured plans)
-
Any insurance benefit
-
Any Workers’
Compensation Benefit, and
-
Any benefit not payable
from the general assets of the employer.
The definitions of child, spouse, and parent
parallel those found in the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) and the federal
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
An employer is prohibited from denying the right
to use sick leave in this manner and not permitted to discharge, threaten to
discharge, demote, suspend, or discriminate in any manner against an employee
for using or attempting to exercise the right to use sick leave to attend to
the illness of a child, spouse, or parent. The employee may request action by
the Labor Commissioner or may bring civil action if his or her rights are
denied or discrimination is alleged.
The law does not contain any mention of
administrative forms or processes for the employee or employer to use - the
expectation being that employers will modify their sick leave plans and leave
application processes to allow for the new kind of leave request.
About VPA, inc.
VPA Inc., headquartered in Calabasas, California,
helps employers solve the challenges associated with administering and managing
complex absence and disability programs, including FMLA, short-term, long-term,
and state disability benefit plans. VPA’s clients include PepsiCo,
Hewlett-Packard, Tricon Global Restaurants, Agilent Technologies, and Charles
Schwab. VPA’s expertise and technology, including web intake and inquiry,
provide a complete solution to improve productivity, control costs, and reduce
the administrative burden for self-insured employers.
Source: VPA, Inc.
Contact: Robert Trotta, 800-473-9761
|