Home » Employment Law » Family & Medical Leave

Family & Medical Leave (FMLA) Attorney

For most, health, family and work are life’s top priorities. Unfortunately, sometimes our health and family obligations–like taking time off to recover from an illness, care for a sick family member or bond with a newborn–conflict with our work responsibilities and can even put our jobs at risk. This is why the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) were enacted. These laws are designed to help employees balance their work and family responsibilities by entitling them to unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons.

Regrettably though, many employers ignore medical and family leave laws. If you find yourself in this situation, the FMLA Attorneys at Pimentel Law can protect your rights in California.

DISCUSS FMLA & CFRA OPTIONS WITH PIMENTEL LAW

Family and medical leave is a protected right under both federal and California law. The two laws are very similar and have considerable overlap. Below is a side-by-side comparison of the protections provided by each law.

FEDERAL v. STATE FAMILY & MEDICAL LEAVE OVERVIEW

	FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (FMLA)	CAL FAMILY RIGHTS ACT (CFRA)
EMPLOYER COVERAGE	50 employees or more.	50 employees or more.
EMPLOYEE ELIGIBILITY	Employees who (1) have been employed for at least 12 months; (2) have worked at least 1250 hours during the 12-month period prior to taking leave; and (3) work at a location where 50 or more people are employed within 75 miles of that worksite.	Employees who (1) have been employed for at least 12 months; (2) have worked at least 1250 hours during the 12-month period prior to taking leave; and (3) work at a location where 50 or more people are employed within 75 miles of that worksite.
REASONS FOR LEAVE	Leave may be taken (1) for the employee’s serious health condition; (2) to care for the employee’s child, parent, or spouse who has a serious health condition; (3) for the birth or adoption of the employee’s child or the placement of a foster child with the employee; (4) because of a “qualifying exigency that arises because the employee’s spouse, child, or parent is on “covered active duty” or has been notified of an impending call to “covered active duty”; or (5) by an employee who is the spouse, child, parent, or next of kin of a covered service member to care for him or her.	Leave may be taken (1) for the employee’s serious health condition; (2) to care for the employee’s child, parent, spouse, registered domestic partner, or child of a registered domestic partner who has a serious health condition; or (3) for the birth or adoption of a child or placement of a foster child with the employee.
LENGTH OF LEAVE	Up to 12 weeks in a 12-month period. If employee is the spouse, child, parent, or next of kin of a covered service member who is recovering from a serious illness or injury sustained in the line of duty while on active duty, employee is entitled to up to 26 weeks of leave in a single 12-month period to care for the service member.	Up to 12 weeks in a 12-month period.
EMPLOYEE’S RIGHT TO RETURN TO WORK	Employee is entitled to be returned to same position held when leave began or to an equivalent position with equivalent benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment.	Employee must be returned to the same or comparable position at the end of the leave, unless employment would have ended regardless of whether employee had taken leave or employee is a “key employee.”
DISCHARGE OF EMPLOYEE DURING LEAVE OR ON EXPIRATION OF LEAVE	Employee may be fired during leave if position would have been eliminated had employee continued to work instead of taking leave. Employment may be terminated on expiration of leave if employee (1) fails to return to work and is not entitled to leave under any other law; (2) can no longer perform essential functions of job because of a physical or mental condition; (3) is a “key employee” under FMLA and denial of reinstatement is necessary to prevent substantial economic injury to employer; or (4) employee fraudulently obtained FMLA leave.	Employee may be fired during leave if position would have been eliminated regardless of whether employee took leave. Employment may be terminated on expiration of leave if employee (1) fails to return to work and is not entitled to leave under any other law; (2) can no longer perform essential functions of job because of a physical or mental condition; (3) is a “key employee” under FMLA and denial of reinstatement is necessary to prevent substantial economic injury to employer.

	FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (FMLA)
EMPLOYER COVERAGE	50 employees or more.
EMPLOYEE ELIGIBILITY	Employees who (1) have been employed for at least 12 months; (2) have worked at least 1250 hours during the 12-month period prior to taking leave; and (3) work at a location where 50 or more people are employed within 75 miles of that worksite.
REASONS FOR LEAVE	Leave may be taken (1) for the employee’s serious health condition; (2) to care for the employee’s child, parent, or spouse who has a serious health condition; (3) for the birth or adoption of the employee’s child or the placement of a foster child with the employee; (4) because of a “qualifying exigency that arises because the employee’s spouse, child, or parent is on “covered active duty” or has been notified of an impending call to “covered active duty”; or (5) by an employee who is the spouse, child, parent, or next of kin of a covered service member to care for him or her.
LENGTH OF LEAVE	Up to 12 weeks in a 12-month period. If employee is the spouse, child, parent, or next of kin of a covered service member who is recovering from a serious illness or injury sustained in the line of duty while on active duty, employee is entitled to up to 26 weeks of leave in a single 12-month period to care for the service member.
EMPLOYEE’S RIGHT TO RETURN TO WORK	Employee is entitled to be returned to same position held when leave began or to an equivalent position with equivalent benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment.
DISCHARGE OF EMPLOYEE DURING LEAVE OR ON EXPIRATION OF LEAVE	Employee may be fired during leave if position would have been eliminated had employee continued to work instead of taking leave. Employment may be terminated on expiration of leave if employee (1) fails to return to work and is not entitled to leave under any other law; (2) can no longer perform essential functions of job because of a physical or mental condition; (3) is a “key employee” under FMLA and denial of reinstatement is necessary to prevent substantial economic injury to employer; or (4) employee fraudulently obtained FMLA leave.

	CAL FAMILY RIGHTS ACT (CFRA)
EMPLOYER COVERAGE	50 employees or more.
EMPLOYEE ELIGIBILITY	Employees who (1) have been employed for at least 12 months; (2) have worked at least 1250 hours during the 12-month period prior to taking leave; and (3) work at a location where 50 or more people are employed within 75 miles of that worksite.
REASONS FOR LEAVE	Leave may be taken (1) for the employee’s serious health condition; (2) to care for the employee’s child, parent, spouse, registered domestic partner, or child of a registered domestic partner who has a serious health condition; or (3) for the birth or adoption of a child or placement of a foster child with the employee.
LENGTH OF LEAVE	Up to 12 weeks in a 12-month period.
EMPLOYEE’S RIGHT TO RETURN TO WORK	Employee must be returned to the same or comparable position at the end of the leave, unless employment would have ended regardless of whether employee had taken leave or employee is a “key employee.”
DISCHARGE OF EMPLOYEE DURING LEAVE OR ON EXPIRATION OF LEAVE	Employee may be fired during leave if position would have been eliminated regardless of whether employee took leave. Employment may be terminated on expiration of leave if employee (1) fails to return to work and is not entitled to leave under any other law; (2) can no longer perform essential functions of job because of a physical or mental condition; (3) is a “key employee” under FMLA and denial of reinstatement is necessary to prevent substantial economic injury to employer.

Am I Entitled to Paid Family and Medical Leave?

Although the FMLA and CFRA entitle qualified employees to a protected family or medical leave of absence, that leave is unfortunately unpaid. However, an employee may be able to receive compensation while on FMLA/CFRA leave by:

Using accrued vacation, sick leave or other paid leave
Using an employer-paid family leave policy or disability leave plan
Qualifying for wage replacement under the State Disability Insurance (SDI) or California Unemployment Insurance Code’s Paid Family Leave (PFL) program

Challenges You May Experience with Employers

Many employers will deny family and medical leave even when an employee qualifies for it. Other employers find ways to penalize employees who take leave, like reassigning employees to less desirable positions upon their return to work. If you encounter this type of behavior after exercising or attempting to exercise your family and medical leave rights, contact our FMLA attorneys to help.

Other unacceptable actions that employers may take against you for taking leave include:

Discontinuing health insurance
Pressuring you to return from your leave prematurely
Disciplining you for taking your leave
Failing to make you aware of your family and medical leave rights
Unreasonably denying that you meet eligibility requirements for taking family and medical leave

Some employers will even terminate employees who take or attempt to take a family or medical leave. If this happens, you should immediately seek the counsel of an FMLA attorney to determine your next steps. Our experienced FMLA attorneys in Los Angeles will help you recover financial compensation for your losses.

Seek the Help of an Employment Attorney Today

If you have suffered an adverse employment action at work as a result of taking or attempting to take a family or medical leave, contact Pimentel Law for the leading FMLA attorneys in Los Angeles.

At Pimentel Law, we can help you receive the leave rights you’re entitled to, help you reclaim the higher salary you earned before your leave or even reinstate you to your prior position.

Contact us today to learn more about how an FMLA attorney can help you protect your family and medical leave rights in California.

Schedule a free case evaluation, contact us today.

ca_pasadena_personal-injury-attorney_2021_transparent

      
   Pimentel Law, P.C.
   26 Google reviews 
  Write a review 
  
 
 
   
 
 
       Posted on Google  
   
   Luis Nunez 
 
 
 
  Pimental Law has an incredible team!! I highly recommend them for your legal needs, they took their time to explain everything in my particular case in a manner I understood. I always had frequent updates, I chose them for their great reviews, they have given me peace of mind with the results of my case and I couldn't be more grateful! I highly recommend them, 5 star service!
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   gary hartman 
 
 
 
  Pimentel law went above and beyond my expectations threw a very difficult law suit . I highly recommend them, If your seeking a great legal team ,  you found them at  Pimentel law Gary H.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Monte Gomez 
 
 
 
  I had an issue with my employer not paying double the minimum wage for purchasing my own tools to do my job, after my initial consultation Pimental law decided to take my case, Jenna was helpful and informative when I had questions, the paralegal Viktoria was also very helpful and kept me up to date on things , Jenna got me a settlement for back pay that I was owed .thank you Pimental Law!
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Gerardo Jerry 
 
 
 
  A couple years back I had a issue with a former employer (automotive shop) where they did not want to pay me the correct amount of hourly pay for a Mecanic providing his own tools. After getting fed up with them I looked online and found Mr Pimentel only about 30 mins away from me so I decided to call him. He actually answered directly and right away and as I explained everything he seemed to be very very familiar with this certain loophole shops try and weasel them selves out of paying their technicians the correct amount. I actually didn't even meet up with him face to face all was over the phone and you could tell he knew what we had here and knew was one of these crooked shops. Eventually met him in person and you can tell the guy knows his stuff. Very proffesional very focused very serious about his craft. Shop fought and fought trying to again weasel out of it Mr Pimentel didn't let it happen and kept pushing with me for me SPM the way to the end till we came out winning. I was more than pleased with the outcome. I wasn't out for a unfair pay day I just wanted what was rightfully owed to me given to me I got that and a little more which I think is more than fair after all working in a shop setting and putting in years of hard manual labor long long hours tons of stressfull days and just to get burnt by your own employer yeah I don't think so. If anyone wants a honest professional lawyer that's gonna go all in give Mr Pimentel a try and worry not your in very good hands! Thanks again Mr Pimentel. God bless.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Bryan Culp 
 
 
 
  When I first started looking for representation I knew I needed some one who would listen to me and explain all my options and some one who really cares about your situation Gaberial Pimentel and his staff are wonderful, I had the pleasure of working with Yesenia Rodriguez she is Truly on top of her game I know that we all want to find someone who cares about are situation and will give it there all I have always been informed and I never felt they did,nt have my best interest in hand SO STOP WAITING and give Pimentel Law a call I don't believe you wont be sorry you did once again THANK YOU PIMENTEl LAW for being there for the under dog-
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   T Moody 
 
 
 
  I feel finding Pimental Law was a blessing in disguise. Gabriel Pimentel was not only informative, he guided me through steps I needed to take to increase my chances of a positive outcome. I loved the fact he kept me updated on my case and responded back within a reasonable amount of time to address questions I had about about my case. It was a nice feeling to know that I could actually talk to Mr. Pimentel himself and or my assigned attorney that works under him vs being always directed to a secretary which has been my pass experiences with other law firms. I find Pimentel Law VERY PROFESSIONAL and have never doubted their practice. I feel fortunate to have had Pimentel Law represent me. If I was to have any other future concerns regarding a projected law suite, I would definitely, give Pimentel Law a call back. I was pleased with my outcome on my case.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Liliyanna Warren 
 
 
 
  Still working on my case
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   michaela basile 
 
 
 
  Pimentel Law is fabulous. They helped me when I didn't know where to turn. They are very professional and get the job done. Bruce Murry was instrumental in taking care of my case. I highly recommend him and the office of Pimentel Law.