California laws provide the greatest level of job protection and partially paid leave for pregnancy leave of any state in the US. California has the most complete sets of laws protecting women during pregnancy leave.
One law gives California women a needed extra benefit over its federal counterpart. The California Family Rights Act provides significantly longer job protection in the event of pregnancy complications, followed by an extended maternity leave for military persons. Should this situation arise, the extended job protection will be welcome.
Where California Ranks
Employees beginning in a new business must be informed of the California labor laws. This is a must. Understand, the state of California has a reputation of being one of the most stringent employment law enforcers in the US, so they don’t take the subject lightly. Hiring legal counsel might even be a smart idea so you can avoid employer liability and legal claims in the future.
One of the most complex areas of labor laws that you ought to understand is the special leaves. On top of the regular leave policies offered by the federal government, the employment law in California has also enacted a few other types of special leaves that employees can benefit from. It is important that you learn about what these special leaves are to properly address issues of absence in the workplace among your employees, whatever the reason may be.
The general legislation in California is that all businesses with fifty or more employees should provide their workers with two primary leave benefits: the California Family Rights Act or CFRA and the Family and Medical Leave Act or FMLA. To preserve your employment rights and to ensure that your employees get the benefits they deserve, here is a quick guide into the special leaves that your workers are entitled to:
California’s Pregnancy Leave Laws Explored
When one of your employees get pregnant, they are entitled to pregnancy leave. This is a traditional type of leave employed all over the United States but there are special clauses to the implementation of this law in California.
All businesses or companies with at least five employees should provide a maximum of four months leave to all pregnant employees. This leave policy covers intermittent leave for a few days before or after giving birth. During her return to work, it is important that the employee retains the same or nearly the same position as she previously held before availing of her leave.
Know all pregnancy leave laws in California laws and you may just avoid a serious infraction in the future.
Photo Credit: Shutterstock/Evgeny Atamenko