An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 8 – Leaves And Absences

d. Holiday Occurring While Employee Is On Leave Like the FMLA, if a holiday occurs within an entire week taken as CFRA leave, the week is counted as a week of CFRA leave. 1150 Also like FMLA, if an employee takes CFRA leave in increments of less than one week, the holiday will not count against the employee’s CFRA entitlement unless the employee was otherwise scheduled and expected to work during the holiday. In cases where a school closes for a week or more (e.g., spring or summer breaks) that time does not count against the employee’s CFRA leave entitlement. 1151 e. Minimum Duration Of Leave In addressing the issue of minimum duration of leave, the CFRA makes a distinction between leave taken for the birth, adoption, or foster care placement from leave taken to care for a child, parent, spouse, which includes a registered domestic partner, or the employee him or herself. 1152 As with the FMLA, if leave is requested for the birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child of the employee, leave must be concluded within one year of the birth or placement of the child. In addition, the minimum duration of such leave is two weeks. However, a school must grant a request for a CFRA leave for the birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child of the employee for less than two weeks on any two occasions and may grant additional requests for leave of less than two weeks for these purposes. 1153 If leave is requested to care for a child, parent, spouse, including a registered domestic partner, or the employee him or herself with a serious health condition, there is no minimum amount of leave that must be taken; however, a school may limit leave increments to the shortest period of time that the school’s payroll system uses to account for absences or use of leave provided it is not greater than one hour. 1154 D. F OR W HAT R EASON IS L EAVE P ERMITTED ?

1. FMLA “Leave” under the FMLA includes leave because of:

 The birth of an employee’s child and to care for a newborn;  The placement of a child with an employee in connection with the adoption or foster care of a child by an employee;  Leave to care for a child, parent, or a spouse who has a “serious health condition;”  Leave because of a “serious health condition” that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of his or her position. 1155 This provision does not mean that an employee must be so incapacitated that he or she is unable to work at all. Rather, the employee must simply be unable to perform the essential functions of the employee’s position (as defined by the ADA); 1156

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