New law expands family and medical leave to 6 million more Californians

On September 17, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 1383, which makes sweeping changes to the California Family Rights Act (CFRA). Effective January 1, 2021, the CFRA will cover employers with as few as five employees and expand the reasons for which the leave may be used. According to the governor’s press release, “SB 1383 will expand job-protected family leave and leave to care for one’s own illness to nearly 6 million more Californians.” Let’s look at the key changes to the newly expanded CFRA.

Small employers with 5 or more employees covered

Currently, the CFRA makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer with 50 or more employees (and public employers of any size) to refuse to provide an unpaid leave of absence to eligible workers for up to 12 workweeks to bond with a new child of the employee or to care for themselves, a child, a parent, or a spouse. The CFRA is modeled on the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Effective January 1, 2018, the California New Parent Leave Act (NPLA) effectively broadened the CFRA’s scope by allowing eligible employees working for employers with as few as 20 employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to bond with a new child. SB 1383 repeals the NPLA.

Under the newly amended CFRA, which takes effect January 1, 2021, employers with 5 or more employees (and public employers of any size) must provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to eligible employees for covered reasons.

75-mile-radius eligibility requirement eliminated