On February 10, 2007, Alex Hernaez, who graduated from Georgetown, and a partner in the San Francisco, CA office of Kauff McClain & McGuire LLP gave a talk on leave benefits.
Under FMLA, an employee is able to be given 12 weeks nonpaid leave and the ability to be kept on the company’s insurance coverage. After his/her leave, an employee is able to be restored to an equivalent job.
In California, CFRA allows for domestic partners to be covered. However, the domestic partner must be registered. The employer may want to check the registration, but in order to do so, the employer should have a standard to also check married couples for their evidence on marriage.
For medical conditions, under federal law, the employer can obtain a diagnosis from a doctor. In California, privacy laws prevent the employer from obtaining a diagnosis. The doctor in California will merely check off if the employee has a serious health condition. In California, it is a crime (misdemeanor) for an employer to reveal whether someone is HIV positive.
When the ADA is in play, the federal law considers mitigating measures. For instance, someone has sight issues, but those issues may be resolved through eyeglasses. In California, mitigating measures are not considered. For injuries outside of work, SDI provides payments. For injuries relating to the job, workers’ compensation allows for payments.
In order to prevent having to give an employee more than the allowed leave time, the employer should give provisional designation when the employee first reports his/her illness.
In California, a pregnancy may allow for up to 7 months of leave under the PDL, FMLA, CFRA.
Few leaves require the employer to pay for the time off. The laws merely give job protection.
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