Premium Content
Get Instant Access!
Enter your information to the right to unlock this premium content and get instant access to important answers to your HR questions!
Julie is a California employee who is having complications with her pregnancy. Julie’s employer placed Julie on a four-month state Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) (running concurrently to FMLA for the first 12 weeks). Julie had her baby two days before her PDL expired.
Question:
How much more time can she have off work? What documentation should you require? What if she continues to have medical issues after the birth of her baby?
Answer:
Julie is eligible for CA PDL – up to 17 1/3 weeks of leave for pregnancy related medical issues. FMLA will run concurrently to PDL. It is important you designate the PDL/FMLA leave formally with written notification. Once PDL has exhausted, the employee is eligible to take CFRA Baby Bonding Leave (Note: FMLA will exhaust after 12 weeks, PDL exhausts after 17 1/3 weeks. The first 12 weeks they run together). If you consistently require all employees to provide documentation regarding adoption and foster care child responsibility start dates, you can also require confirmation of the employees’ delivery date. The medical provider should then confirm Julie’s recovery time. The typical pregnancy will require 6 weeks of recovery time, however rely on the medical providers notification regarding the time each woman needs based on her personal situation.
Once the baby is born, if Julie requires additional leave as a result of a medical disability (related to the pregnancy or not) that qualifies under the ADA, Julie may be eligible for additional leave under the ADA – IF it is not an undue hardship. However, Julie is also eligible for leave under CFRA Baby Bonding, and CFRA BB maintains her health care benefits while protection under ADA does not. An employee may take CFRA Baby Bonding once PDL/FMLA has expired whether she is eligible for ADA protection or not. And note, if they were eligible for FMLA during PDL, they do not need to requalify for CFRA BB. One of the primary benefits of choosing to use CFRA Baby Bonding is to maintain the integrity of continued health care coverage. ADA does not protect health care benefits.
Make sure you explain this to Julie so she can make the choice that best fits her needs. And certainly, if your organization determines it is an undue hardship to provide leave as an accommodation under the ADA, make sure you are providing the employee the opportunity to take the leave under CFRA Baby Bonding.
Do you know what you do when an employee is pregnant? When do the pregnancy designations begin and end, and how do you handle pregnancy-related leaves with and without complications? Don’t put yourself at a disadvantage!
Our FMLA to ADA Transition Course will help you explain the four primary reasons to transition, how to identify the steps to take when FMLA is exhausted or denied, how to integrate your Medical Leave and Accommodation policies with the various types of leave, and how to transition an employee from FMLA to ADA.
The FMLA/CFRA Designation Course will take you approximately 3.5 hours to complete. The course will help you identify who is eligible, how to explain the differences between a serious health condition and a disability, how to concurrently designate FMLA and CFRA leave, and manage leave extension requests.
Another course that will be beneficial to you on this subject is the FMLA/CFRA-ADA/FEHA Denial When Protected Under Workers’ Comp and PDL (CA). In this course, you will learn how to navigate the challenge of Pregnancy, Workers’ Comp disability when FMLA is exhausted or denied and/or an accommodation is requested under the ADA.
The Integrated Medical Leave & Accommodation Management System™ is dedicated to providing you with ongoing support and the latest information, tools, and resources your organization needs to minimize employee lost work time, improve staff productivity, and maintain legally compliant absence and disability management programs.
It’s time to have these answers at your fingertips! https://www.leavemanagementsolutions.com/california-medical-leave-and-accommodation-management-system-certification-ca-2
