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CFRA Leave in California

CFRA is California’s family and medical leave. Eligibility, the family list, and the 12-week cap are the parts people most often have wrong.

General education for California employees—not legal advice. Your facts and deadlines control. This is not a Workplace Rights Advocacy case result. It explains the Civil Rights Department workplace notice in plain English. It is not the poster and it is not a complete statement of every exception.

Who is eligible

The workplace notice describes this leave for employers with five or more employees, with some exceptions. Government Code § 12945.2 is the California Family Rights Act. A covered employer generally employs five or more people, and public employers are included. An eligible employee has worked for the employer for at least 12 months and at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before the leave.

What the 12 weeks cover

Eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks in a 12-month period. The reasons include the employee’s own serious health condition; caring for a family member with a serious health condition; bonding with a new child by birth, adoption, or foster placement; and certain qualifying military exigencies. A family member includes a child of any age, spouse, domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, and a designated person. A designated person is someone related by blood or whose association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship. The employee may be limited to one designated person in a 12-month period.

The leave is job-protected. Denying it, discouraging it, or refusing to restore the employee to the same or a comparable position can violate the statute, as can retaliation for requesting it. CFRA and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act overlap and are not identical. CFRA’s child need not be under 18. Pregnancy disability leave is a separate entitlement and can come before CFRA bonding leave. See CFRA.

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Common questions

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Do I have a case?

If you faced discrimination, harassment, retaliation, unpaid wages, wrongful termination, leave denial, or a refused disability accommodation, you may have claims. Whether your facts support a case depends on the evidence, deadlines, and applicable law—we evaluate that in consultation.

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What should I bring?

Bring or upload what you have: a short timeline, pay stubs or time records, emails and texts, write-ups or reviews, medical or leave paperwork, and the names of witnesses or managers. See our documentation guide.

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