Division of Risk Management and Insurance Services

FMLA/CFRA allows an employee to take up to 12 work weeks of job-protected absences and/or leave in an FMLA year (12-month period) for any of the following reasons:

• An employee's own serious health condition
• To care for a parent, spouse, or child* with a serious health condition
• For the birth of a child or placement of a child in the employee's home through adoption or foster care
• Any qualifying exigency for the employee's parent, spouse, or child, who is on active duty, or called to active duty, in support of a contingency operation
• Up to 26 work weeks of job-protected absences to care for a family member in the military who sustains a serious injury or illness while on active duty

* A child is usually one that is under the age of 18 or an adult dependent who is incapable of self-care due to a physical or mental disability.

• Employees are eligible if they have worked for LAUSD for at least one year over the past seven years, and worked the equivalent of 130 workdays (or 1,250 hours for school police, skilled craft workers, playground aides and classified subs/temps) over the 12 months prior to the first day of absence due to a serious health condition.

Please note: there is no work-time requirement for Pregnancy Disability Leave. The law provides up to 18 work weeks of job protections.

• Eligible employees are entitled to up to 12 work weeks of protected leave and/or absence within any FMLA/CFRA year (12 month period) no matter how many FMLA-qualifying reasons an employee may have.
• For employees taking Pregnancy Disability leave, the employee is entitled to up to 18 work weeks of protected leave per pregnancy.
• Employees who are caring for a family member in the military who has sustained a serious injury or illness while on active duty are entitled to up to 26 weeks of protected leave.

• An FMLA/CFRA year is the 12-month period that an eligible employee has to utilize their 12 work weeks of protection. It begins with the first qualifying FMLA/CFRA absence that the employee has.

For example, if an eligible employee requests FMLA/CFRA protection beginning with their first FMLA/CFRA qualifying absence on January 4, 2013, then their FMLA year would end on January 3, 2014.

• FMLA/CFRA can be paid, unpaid or a combination of both.
• If the FMLA/CFRA absence is for the employee's own Serious Health Condition, then the employee is required to use any available full-pay illness, half-pay illness or vacation time.
• If the FMLA/CFRA absence is to care for the employee's Family Member, the employee is required to use any available Kin Care, Personal Necessity or vacation time. All other time is unpaid.
• If the employee is receiving benefits under the California Paid Family Leave program, however, the employee is not required to use available Kin Care, Personal Necessity or vacation benefits.

• If your FMLA/CFRA absence is to care for a family member, District Policy requires you to use any available Kin Care, Personal Necessity or vacation time before taking unpaid time off. However, if you are receiving benefits under the California Paid Family Leave program, you are not required to use available Kin Care, Personal Necessity or vacation benefits before taking unpaid time off. 

• No, you may not. District policy requires employees to use all benefited time (i.e. illness and vacation) prior to taking an unpaid leave.

Your time reporter will report your time accordingly. For payroll purposes, the payroll codes are as follows:

For employee's own serious health condition

FCIL

FCVA (only employees who accrue vacation)

FCUP

For employees taking care of a family member's serious health condition

FCKC

FCPN

FCVA (only employees who accrue vacation)

FCUP

For employee on a pregnancy disability leave (maternity leave)

PFIL

PDIL

PFVA (only employees who accrue vacation)

PDUP

For employee on a child bonding leave (mother or father)

FCPN

FCUP

FCVA (only employees who accrue vacation)

For employees on an industrial injury leave (workers' comp)

FWC

• Yes, FMLA/CFRA protection can be granted retroactively, but only in the current fiscal year.

• Substitute teachers can take a FMLA/CFRA leave if they meet the eligibility requirements of one year of service and 130 workdays in the year preceding the leave. If the FMLA/CFRA leave is for more than one pay period, FMLA/CFRA will protect their health benefits up to 12 work weeks.

• FMLA/CFRA does not protect an employee's District seniority, retirement benefits or other benefits that require employees to be in paid status. FMLA/CFRA will only protect an employee's health benefits, should they go into unpaid status.

• The Pregnancy Disability Leave Act (PDL) is the State law that gives an employee who is pregnant up to 18 work weeks of protected leave and/or absence. Unlike FMLA and CFRA, there is no work time requirement to be eligible for PDL.

• Please refer to your respective Collective Bargaining Agreement to read about your pay. You may also call your appropriate HR department to get more information.
• For certificated employees, please call HR Certificated Placement and Assignments at (213) 241-5100.
• For classified employees, please call Personnel Commission at (213) 241-7800.

• An employee is entitled to have up to 12 weeks of child bonding by the baby's first birthday, under the protection of the California Family Rights Act (CFRA).

• Yes, if you are adopting or fostering a child, you are allowed to do child bonding. You get up to 12 weeks of child bonding, from the beginning date of the placement.

• Please refer to your respective Collective Bargaining Agreement to see what you are eligible for or contact your appropriate HR department for more information.
• For certificated employees, please call HR Certificated Placement and Assignments at (213) 241-5100.
• For classified employees, please call the Personnel Commission at (213) 241-7800.

• Yes, FMLA/CFRA will protect your District paid health benefits for up to 12 weeks.

• Child bonding leave can be paid or unpaid. 

If you choose to take unpaid parental leave (child bonding) the eligibility requirements are the same as for FMLA/CFRA.  The eligibility requirement (1 year of service and 130 workdays or 1,250 work hours) is the same for all employees. However, when we measure the 130 workdays (or 1,250 work hours) depends on who is taking the child bonding leave and when they take it.

• If you are a mother who is going directly from your pregnancy disability leave into a child bonding leave without returning to work, then we measure your eligibility from the first day you take off on your long term pregnancy disability.
• If you are a mother and have returned to work immediately after your pregnancy disability and are taking your child bonding leave at a later date, we measure your eligibility from the first date of your child bonding leave.
• If you are a mother who delivered during an off track time (i.e. summer break) and is capable of returning to work at the beginning of the school year, then we measure your eligibility from the first date of your child bonding leave.
• If you are the father of a newborn, we measure your eligibility from the first date of your child bonding leave.

• Yes. Fathers will use their FMLA and CFRA concurrently when bonding with a newborn or adoption of a child.

• Yes, you can. You do not have to take the 12 work weeks consecutively. However, District policy requires employees to bond for a minimum of 2 work weeks; two exceptions are allowed for leave of less than 2 work weeks.

Remember: Even if you do your child bonding intermittently, you are still limited to taking the 12 weeks by your baby's first birthday.

• If both parents work for the District, they do not get 12 work weeks each to bond. The bonding time must be shared, in any combination, as long as the bonding time does not exceed 12 work weeks total.

• Child bonding is part of FMLA and CFRA which allow an employee to take up to 12 work weeks of absence to bond with their newborn during the child's first 12 months.
• A child care leave is separate from FMLA and CFRA. It is a contract provision that allows an employee to take additional time off to be with their child. The provisions and time frames of a child care leave are different for Certificated and Classified employees. For more information, please refer to your respective Collective Bargaining Agreement.
• A child care leave is a contract provision and does not protect your health benefits. Thus, your benefits will be terminated if you are in unpaid status for more than one pay period.

• No, Workers' Compensation is not a protected absence.  The employee must apply for FMLA/CFRA for Workers' Compensation absences to be protected.