How Families First Coronavirus Response Act Interacts with Family and Medical Leave Act & California Family Rights Act

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Emergency family leave is a new type of leave under the U.S. Family and Medical Leave Act. It is not intended to provide additional weeks of leave. An employee who has used 12 weeks of leave under the FMLA is not able to add more by reasoning that a coronavirus-related emergency entitles him or her to take emergency family leave.

The qualifying reason for leave –– to care for an employee’s child whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19 –– does not apply under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA). So leave taken pursuant to emergency family leave may not run concurrently with CFRA. An employee may use 12 weeks of emergency family leave and still have 12 weeks of CFRA leave available.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act makes clear that its paid leave provisions are in addition to other leave available to employees. Employers should be mindful that:

• Leave under the FMLA runs concurrently with the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act.
• Leave under the CFRA runs consecutively with the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act

Other subsections discuss how the FMLA and CFRA apply to COVID-19 issues.

See Also

• Families First Coronavirus Response Act
• FAQs — Families First Coronavirus Response Act

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