Compliance Stuff

Managing employee medical leaves can be one of the most confusing challenges for California employers. You want to support your team, but what happens when the time off just keeps getting extended, with no clear return date? The good news: California law does not require you to grant indefinite leave as a reasonable accommodation. A recent Court of Appeal decision,  Manos v. J. Paul Getty Trust , reinforces this important principle under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). What the Law Requires When employees exhaust protected leave under the FMLA, CFRA, or other laws, employers still need to consider whether the ADA or FEHA require additional accommodations. Sometimes that means more unpaid leave—but only if there’s a real expectation that the time off will help the employee return to work. The law is clear: Leave may be a reasonable accommodation if it’s likely to allow the employee to come back and perform the essential functions of their position. Employers are not req...

Picture this: An employee stops showing up to work. No call, no text, no explanation. Frustrating, right? That’s why so many employers bury “job abandonment” policies in their handbooks—often declaring that disappearing for three consecutive days without notice means the employee has voluntarily quit. Seems tidy and efficient. But here’s the truth: Job abandonment policies can land you in serious legal hot water if you’re not careful. Let’s break down why. Protected Leaves Are a Thing That silent employee might not be off on a beach somewhere. They could be on protected leave under laws like the FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act), the CFRA (California Family Rights Act), pregnancy disability leave (PDL), or the ADA or FEHA (disability-related accommodations). If you terminate someone without figuring out whether their absence is protected, you’re flirting with a wrongful termination claim. Disability Discrimination Risks Not all “no shows” are intentional. An employee’s absence might ...

In 2022, California passed  Assembly Bill (AB) 1949  which amended the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) to provide for bereavement leave. The law took effect in January 2023, but here are some reminders for employers about bereavement leave requirements. Under the law, employers with five or more employees must allow eligible employees to take up to five unpaid days of bereavement leave for certain family member s. Consistent with the CFRA’s broad definition, a “family member” means a spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, domestic partner, or parent-in-law. Employers may voluntarily allow bereavement leave for a person not defined as a family member under the law. Although bereavement leave is unpaid, employers must allow employees to use any accrued paid sick days or personal days to receive pay during their bereavement leave. Employees are required to follow the employer’s bereavement leave policy pertaining to notice. Employees are not required to ta...