Paternity Leave

Paternity Leave Protection

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Fathers in California can enjoy paternity leave upon the birth of their newborns. The paternity leave is also protected and the employer cannot retaliate or discriminate because the employee takes an approved paternity leave. Paternity leave can be obtained through Family Medical Leave Act protection or through California Family Rights Act (CFRA). Both FMLA and CFRA provide for 12 weeks of leave.

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Since 2018, California offers Baby Bonding Leave to the parents of newborns within one year of the child’s birth, adoption or foster care placement. However, there are some conditions for the baby bonding leave:

Employers must have at least 20 employees within in a 75-mile radius;
Employee should have worked for the employer for 12 months; and,
Employee should have worked 1250 hours in the past 12 months.

The Baby Bonding Leave is unpaid and the employers are not required to pay the employees. However, the Paid Family Leave Act allows eligible employees to receive partial pay while on a Baby Bonding Leave. This could be about 60% of the employee’s pay.

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Most importantly, the employees are protected under CFRA, FMLA or Baby Bonding Leave. This means that the employer cannot retaliate by reducing the hours of an employee or demote him because he has been using paternity leave.

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If you have been a victim of discrimination due to taking a protected leave, please contact our team of Los Angeles lawyers at Employment Rights Lawyers.

Expertise in Employment Law

Maternity Leave

An employee can take up to four months of protected leave. This includes time off needed for prenatal or postnatal care, severe morning sickness, doctor-ordered bed rest, childbirth, recovery from childbirth, loss or end of pregnancy, or any other related medical condition.

Family Medical ACT Leave

The Family Medical Act (FMLA) is a federal law that provides protection for employees who take time off for medical reasons. FMLA provides that an employer cannot terminate an employee for taking FMLA leave, and the employer must guarantee that the employee’s job remains available upon his/her return back to work.

Age Discrimination

Age discrimination could occur when an employee is wrongfully terminated and the main reason for the termination is the employee’s age. It also could occur in connection with a disability discrimination claim as well.

Reimbursement of Business Expenses

All employers in California are required to reimburse their employees for their legitimate business expenses. If an employer knows that an employee is incurring business costs for the purpose of the employer’s business, then the employer is required to reimburse the employee for their work-related expenses.

Racial Discrimination

Racial discrimination occurs when the employee suffers from harassment, discrimination or other unfavorable treatment at the workplace because of the employee’s race or national origin.

Whistleblower

California is an at-will employment state. This means that generally an employer can terminate an employee at any time without warning, as long as the termination is legal. However, there are several exceptions to the rule of at will employment.

Reasonable Accommodation

An employer must provide reasonable accommodation to an employee who is physically or mentally disabled, if the employee requests an accommodation. Reasonable accommodation refers to the provision of conditions, equipment, and an environment that enables an individual to effectively perform his or her job.

Pregnancy Discrimination

Pregnancy discrimination occurs when an employer fires, demotes, lays off, or fails to promote by eliminating a work position because an employee is pregnant. If the employer has notice of the employee’s pregnancy and fails to accommodate the employee’s pregnancy status, then the employer might be liable for pregnancy discrimination under California Law.

Commission Pay

If you work based on commission, you are entitled to compensation for making sales or completing tasks. In California, commissions are not classified as discretionary, meaning that an employer cannot withhold your payment, as long as you meet the requirements for commission

Class Action

Class actions or collective actions allow an individual plaintiff to bring a lawsuit on behalf of himself and all similarly situated individuals for the employer's violation of California Rules and Procedures. Attorneys at Employment Rights Lawyers, APC, have worked on numerous class actions in the past.

Independent Contractors - Misclassification

A recent California regulation requires that employers consider all employees working under the direction and supervision of an employer as “W-2” employees rather than an independent contractor, unless there is a legal exemption.

Off the Clock Work

Off-the-clock work is where an employee works for the employer while not being on the clock. This happens when the employee has clocked out from work, or the employee is outside of the place of employment and continues to perform his/her duties benefiting the employer. The employer is responsible for the time that the employee has worked off-the-clock.

Discrimination Based on Medical Disability

California’s Fair Employment Housing Act protects employees from any adverse employment action based on a medical disability or medical condition. Unlike for disabilities, an individual claiming a medical condition does not have to show the medical condition has limited a major life activity. Federal and California law require employers to make certain accommodations to allow individuals with disabilities to work.

California Overtime Payment

California law provides payment of overtime for non-exempt employees. The rules regarding overtime payment does not apply to exempt employees.If you work more than eight hours per day or more than 40 hours in a workweek, then your employer is supposed to pay you one and one-half time for each hour worked after the eighth hour in each day.

California Meal and Rest Break

Under California meal break law, each employee is entitled to a thirty-minute duty-free meal break at the end of the fifth hour if the employee works over six hours in a day. The meal break must be duty free, meaning that the employee should not be bothered during his/her meal break...

Exempt/Non-Exempt

An employee is presumed to be non-exempt and thus entitled to overtime, rest periods, meal periods and itemized wage statements. The employer bears the burden of proving that an employee is exempt and, thus, not entitled to overtime, rest periods, meal periods and itemized wage statements.

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when the conduct is made as a term or condition of an individual’s employment, or it occurs during the course of employment.

Discrimination Based on Gender

Gender discrimination occurs when an employer discriminates against you because of your gender in hiring, promotion or firing. Repeated acts that contribute to a hostile workplace, where you feel unwelcome or unsafe because of your gender also count.

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