How long paternity leave california

Although, in the past, most leaves had to do with mothers, fathers now have increased leave benefits through paternity leave. Like maternity leave rights , paternity leave refers to the time a father takes off of work to care for a child, usually within the first 12 months after they have a biological child or become a father through foster care or adoption.

In California, paternity leave rights apply to both biological fathers and fathers through other means, with several of the expanded paternity law laws applying to same-sex spouses. Previously, under the New Parent Leave Act , fathers were able to get up to 12 weeks of paternity leave. However, the protections under this specific law applied mostly to smaller employers, with as few as 20 employees.

Since then, this law has been repealed and replaced with the California Family Rights Act CFRA , which gives more paternity leave benefits to fathers across the state of California. Under this expansion, fathers can take up to 12 weeks of paternity leave within one year.

This leave can be used to bond with a new child, care for someone in their family with a health condition, or handle a health condition that has made their current job duties too difficult. Maternity and Paternity Leave in California.

Learn whether new parents in California can take time off after the arrival of a new child. What Is Parental Leave? Who Is Eligible for Parental Leave? Do I Have the Right to Reinstatement? Talk to a Lawyer Need a lawyer? Start here. Practice Area Please select Zip Code. How it Works Briefly tell us about your case Provide your contact information Choose attorneys to contact you.

For Employees. Losing Your Job. Your Rights To Fair Wages. Your Health and Safety. For Employers. This article takes a closer look at these rights and other laws protecting paternity leave for employees in California. The Right to Paternity Leave Generally. In California, the legal right to take leave differs in significant ways for men and women. Most notably, many women have a right to take pregnancy disability leave.

Many men do, however, have a legal right to take up to 12 weeks family leave, which can be used to bond with a new child or care for a spouse with a serious health condition.

In California, there are three primary laws protecting the right of new fathers to take paternity leave:. Employees that are eligible to take leave under two or more of these laws must take them concurrently.

Employees will sometimes be entitled to pay or benefits during their paternity leave. The right to pay during leave, however, is distinct from the right to take leave in the first place. Paternity leave is therefore unpaid unless the employee has a separate legal right to pay during leave. Eligibility Requirements for Paternity Leave. Eligible employees in California have a right to take up to 12 weeks of family leave per year. If all three requirements are met, employers will usually be required to provide up to 12 weeks of family leave to eligible employees.

As mentioned above, in addition to taking leave for the purpose of child bonding, eligible employees can use family leave to care for their own serious health condition or the serious health condition of a parent, their spouse, or their child. To be eligible for this type of leave, the following requirements must be met:.

A serious health condition , for these purposes, is a physical or mental condition that involves either of the following:. Inpatient care means a stay in a hospital, hospice, or residential health care facility, as well as any subsequent treatment in connection with that inpatient care.

An employer can require an employee to take the leave in a minimum duration of two weeks at a time. However, the law also gives the employee two opportunities to take intermittent leave of less than two weeks at a time.

How does this work? On two occasions, an employee can ask the employer to grant her the right to take bonding leave of less than two-week increments. Once those two opportunities have been granted, the employer can require the new-child bonding time to be taken in two week increments.

Employees wishing to take family leave must provide their employer with a reasonable notice of their need to take family leave. If the need for family leave is sudden or unexpected, notice must be given by the employee as soon as is practicable.

Most employees have a guaranteed right to be reinstated with their employer when they return from family leave. The right to reinstatement means that the employee is entitled to the same or a comparable position. The new position must also involve the same or substantially similar duties and responsibilities, which must entail substantially equivalent skill, effort, responsibility, and authority. Additionally, if an employee returns to the job and is no longer qualified for the job due to missing training or other events which happened while she was off work, she must be afforded a reasonable opportunity to fulfill those key requirements.

Taking Leave as a Reasonable Accommodation. California law prohibits covered employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of their mental disabilities. As part of the rule against discrimination, California law imposes a duty on covered employers to make reasonable accommodations for employees with mental disabilities.

There are four requirements for employees to be eligible for a reasonable accommodation:. To qualify for a reasonable accommodation in the context of paternity leave, the employee must have a mental disability that somehow impairs them.

In general, both employees and job applicants have a right to be free from discrimination due to their mental disability. California law specifically excludes certain behavioral problems, even though many of them are arguably mental disabilities.

In the context of fatherhood, the most important exclusion involves substance abuse disorders resulting from the current unlawful use of drugs. In general, courts are flexible in considering what accommodations are reasonable.

Importantly, however, employers are not required to consider an accommodation if it would prevent the employee from performing the essential functions of the job. In the context of mental disabilities, reasonable accommodations can also include: job restructuring, reassignment to a vacant position, alterations to when tasks are to be completed, or changes to how functions are performed.

In some cases, the employer may be required to permit the employee to take a period of leave for treatment and recovery. Holding a job open for a disabled employee who needs time to recuperate or heal is in itself a form of reasonable accommodation and may be all that is required where it appears likely that the employee will be able to return to an existing position at some time in the foreseeable future.

Importantly, however, leaves of absence should usually be treated as a last resort by employers. An employer is only required to provide a reasonable accommodation if the accommodation would enable the employee to perform the essential functions of a job. Meaning, California law generally permits an employer to terminate an employee if they are unable to perform the essential functions of the job, even with a reasonable accommodation. Essential job functions are the fundamental duties of the employment position.

Of course, these are just a few examples of when a function might be treated as essential to the job. There may be other situations where courts might find a function essential. If the case goes to court, the burden is on the employee to prove that they could perform the essential functions of the job if a reasonable accommodation had been provided. Paternity leave varies across other states, usually consisting of vacation and sick leave.

Much like the variations in leave laws, if or how leave is paid from state to state varies. California is often considered a trailblazer in this regard, with the first paid leave act. What is Maternity and Paternity Leave in California. Who Gets Maternity and Paternity Leave. The New Parent Leave Act covers employees of companies with at least 20 employees who have a new biological, adopted or foster child.

Those employees must have worked for the employer for at least a year and at least hours in the 12 months prior to leave. Again, employees must have worked for their employer for at least a year and hours within the last year. Then, there is paid disability and family leave offering six weeks of partial wage replacement to parents who take time off to bond with a child.

While some companies will try to dissuade fathers from enjoying paternity leave, this is a legal right. Women are offered pregnancy disability leave, which cannot apply to men. Legal Rights. It is important to follow the rules regarding proper notice for taking leave. However, if your employer still does not comply, there are a few options for remedy.

Contacting the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing with a complaint is a good start. Some people end up needing legal representation with an employment lawyer.