Labor & Employment Law Blog

On January 1, 2018, the California Legislature enacted the New Parent Leave Act (“NPLA”). The NPLA expanded baby-bonding benefits to employees of smaller employers (20-49 employees), a benefit that had been previously available only to employees of larger employers (50 or more employees) under the California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”).

New Posting Requirement

Along with this expansion comes a new poster that discusses the NPLA, CFRA, and Pregnancy Disability Leave:

www.dfeh.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/06/CFRA_PregnancyLeave_English.pdf 

All employers with 20 or more employees must display the poster.  The Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH”) requires that the posters be placed where they can be easily seen by employees and applicants for employment.

In addition, if 10% or more of the employer’s workforce at any given location speaks a language other than English, the employer is required to post the notice in such other languages.  The DFEH published several translated versions of the poster at its website:

www.dfeh.ca.gov/resources/posters-and-brochures-and-fact-sheets/poster-and-brochure-tab-list/?target=posters

An employer must also incorporate a description of the NPLA in the next version of its employee handbook.

As an alternative to displaying multiple government-issued posters, some employers prefer to purchase and display an “all-in-one” poster from various sources.  Employers should review the posters to ensure they are up to date.

Medical Certification Form

The DFEH also recently updated the form that addresses the certification of a health care provider for leaves under the CFRA and the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”):

www.dfeh.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/12/CFRA-Certification-Health-Care-Provider_ENG.pdf

Please contact the authors or your usual employment law counsel at AALRR if you have any questions regarding the DFEH, NPLA, CFRA, or other posting requirements.

On October 12, 2017, Governor Jerry Brown signed the New Parent Leave Act ("NPLA") (SB 63) into law, expanding access to job-protected leave for employees of companies with 20 to 49 employees.

Effective January 1, 2018, SB 63 will allow employees who work for an employer that directly employs 20 to 49 employees within 75 miles, to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid job-protected leave during a 12-month period to bond ...

On July 16, 2015, Governor Brown approved an amendment to the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) prohibiting an employer or other covered entity from retaliating, or otherwise discriminating, against a person for requesting accommodation of his or her disability or religious beliefs, regardless of whether the accommodation request was granted.

The legislation stems from the Court of ...

On February 23, 2015 the Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced it will revise regulations defining spouse under the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) to recognize same-sex marriages regardless of state of residence.  These changes will take effect on March 27, 2015.

The change comes in response to the United States Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor issued on June 26, 2013.  In a ...