An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 8 – Leaves And Absences

result, an employee on PDL leave who is in a post-birth disability status would not be placed on NPLA baby bonding leave until they are either no longer disabled because of their pregnancy or their PDL leave is otherwise exhausted. 2. H OW TO C ALCULATE L EAVE W HEN B OTH P ARENTS W ORK F OR S AME E MPLOYER In any case in which both parents entitled to leave under the New Parent Leave Act work for the same employer, the employer is only required to grant a total of 12 workweeks for both parents. 1324 For example, the mother could take eight weeks and the father four weeks. The employer may, but is not required to, grant the leave to both parents at the same time. F. M AINTENANCE OF H EALTH B ENEFITS The employer must maintain the employee’s group health insurance must during the period of leave, up to 12 workweeks, at the level and under the conditions that coverage would have been provided if the employee had continued to work in his or her position for the duration of the leave. 1325 The employer may recover from the employee the group health insurance premium that the employer paid during the leave if both of the following conditions occur: (1) The employee fails to return from leave after the period of leave to which the employee is entitled has expired; and (2) The employee’s failure to return from leave is for a reason other than the continuance, recurrence, or onset of a serious health condition or other circumstances beyond the control of the employee. 1326 G. T HE E MPLOYER I S P ROHIBITED F ROM I NTERFERING W ITH T HE E XERCISE O F R IGHTS U NDER T HE A CT An employer may not interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, the rights provided by the New Parent Leave Act. 1327 An employer may not refuse to hire, or discharge, fine, suspend, expel, or discriminate against an individual because the individual exercised the right to this leave, or because the individual gave information or testimony about his or her own leave or another employee’s leave during an investigation or proceeding related to rights under the New Parent Leave Act. 1328 H. I NTERACTION OF NPLA AND CFRA R EGULATIONS To the extent the California Code of Regulations applicable to CFRA leave are not inconsistent with the New Parent Leave Act or any other state law, the regulations will be applicable to NPLA leave. 1329 Thus, regulations with respect to matters that are not addressed in the New Parent Leave Act, will apply to the leave. Examples include regulations which provide definitions, and those which govern notice and designation of leaves.

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