877-525-0700Representing Employees Since 1993

Family Medical Leave Lawyer

Protecting Your Employee Rights to Take Leaves

Many employers don’t understand the law when it comes to employee leaves. If your employer denies your request to go on leave or retaliates against you for taking leave, you may be entitled to compensation. The leave, however, must be a leave the law requires the employer to provide.

If you are having a problem with your employer on any employment issue, contact us to discuss your case and your options. In Southern California, we have offices in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, Oxnard, Bakersfield, Tustin, San Bernardino, Riverside, and San Diego. We handle cases in all parts of California and also have offices in other parts of California such as San Francisco.


breach of employment contract


There are many different kinds of employee leaves in available to California employee. Some examples and or reasons for hiring a Lawyer, if you have a leave of absence issue include:

  1. Sick leave (To care for certain family members who have a serious health condition)
  2. Pregnancy leave (For the birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child)
  3. Maternity or paternity leave to care for a newly born or adopted child
  4. Medical leave to care for yourself or a family member
  5. Military leave
  6. Leave for jury duty
  7. Leave due to sexual assault
  8. Leaves of absence due to domestic violence
  9. Workers compensation leave due to work-related injury
  10. click here to read my past medical leave cases

FMLA Lawyer

If you need to take time off from work to recover from a serious health condition or to care for a family member who has a serious health condition, you may be protected by a law known as the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The California Family Rights Act is a California law that provides similar, but better, protection than the Federal Family Medical Leave Act.


The CFRA and FMLA do not protect all employees. In order to fall under the CFRA or FMLA your employer must have more than 5 employees for California’s version of the Family Medical Leave Act, 50 for the Federal FMLA, you must have been employed 1,250 or more hours during the year before your new leave and not have taken more than 12 weeks of CFRA/FMLA during the last year. The leave must also be for a serious medical condition which usually means something you went to a healthcare provider to 2 or more times, or has been an ongoing issue you have treated with off and on for a long time.





Serious medical conditions under CFRA/FMLA include:


Employee Contract Lawyer
  • Leaves of absence from work due to multiple medical appointments for the same medical condition
  • Hospitalizations
  • Time off to heal after a hospitalization or surgery
  • Flare ups of disabilities and permanent medical conditions
  • Time off to provide feeding, dressing, and medicating family members, but not merely sitting there for
  • Moral support

Maybe time off to drive family members to medical appointments for the same type of serious medical conditions employees are covered for especially if the family member was sedated and cannot drive afterwards

Our experienced employee leave lawyers can advise you on the interrelationship between Family Medical Leave and pregnancy. There are ways, with the right employer, to combine pregnancy leave with California Family Rights Act Leave and obtain a seven month leave of absence due to the birth of a child. In order to combine your pregnancy leave with CFRA leave, if you have, you must consult with an experienced California Employee Leave lawyer.

I am Karl A. Gerber, founder and lead trial attorney of the Employment Lawyers Group. If your employer has denied your right to take FMLA leave or had retaliated against you for taking leave, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact us to discuss your case, your options, and whether you qualify for leave under the FMLA or whether there is a legal exception. In Southern California, we have offices in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, Oxnard, Bakersfield, Tustin, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego. We handle cases in all parts of California. Most cases are handled as a team with Karl Gerber and one of the firm’s associate attorneys.


How Much Leave Can I Take From Work?

If you are eligible, the law generally allows you to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave (consecutive or nonconsecutive) in a 12-month period for a serious medical condition for yourself and a limited list of family members. The term intermittent Family Medical Leave is being used by employers to refer to situations in which the employee suffers from an ongoing medical condition which requires the employee to take time off for work at different times on a somewhat frequent basis. We have experience with intermittent Family Medical Leave cases because Karl Gerber recently tried a three week jury trial in Los Angeles Superior Court involving the issue of intermittent Family Medical Leave. Issues with intermittent Family Medical Leave may involve whether the unpredictable nature of the work absences constitute an undue hardship to the employer, and whether regular and predictable attendance is required for the job.

If you have what is called a disability under the law, you may be able to take a longer leave. In addition, you may have medical restrictions that would apply to you upon your return to work. For example, if your job involves lifting, you may be restricted to lifting objects weighing not more than 10 pounds. Only an attorney can advise you whether these restrictions qualify for a particular leave. Employees on Family Medical Leave may also return to work with restrictions the employer may have an obligation to either accommodate, or demand the employee use the remainder of the Family Medical Leave to recover and return to work 100% healed.

Many employers do not understand California leave law and end up violating the rights of their employees.


Serious Health Conditions Under FMLA

What constitutes a serious health condition and what leave protections may exist is a complicated inquiry for which you should consult an experienced Family Medical Leave attorney. In 2013 we tried one Family Medical Leave case before a jury and arbitrated another before an arbitrator in a binding arbitration. We have recent experience in this area of the law on the ultimate level, trial and binding arbitration. These were not our first trials or binding arbitrations in cases for Family Medical Leave.

DON’T BE CAUGHT IN A BIND ASSUMING ONLY ONE LEAVE LAW APPLIES IN CALIFORNIA. CONSULT A ONE OF OUR EXPERIENCED LABOR ATTORNEYS TO SEE WHAT LEAVE LAWS APPLY TO YOUR EMPLOYMENT.

Many employers are confused over the overlapping laws that may apply to an employee’s leave. For example, in California your right to take certain types of leave may be protected by the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act and the California Family Rights Act. Since your company’s human resources department may not be adequately trained, it is best to consult an experienced employment law attorney to determine your rights under all California leave laws.

EMPLOYEE LEAVE OF ABSENCE CASE RESULTS:


  1. Vasquez V Del Rio Pregnancy Discrimination of a Bell Woman
  2. Myles Binding Arbitration Award Termination/Disability Discrimination, Won a Binding Arbitration for a Retirement Home Worker Fired for FMLA
  3. $182,500 for Social Worker Fired While on Cancer Leave
  4. $165,000 settlement for Sylmar Office Manager Fired in Violation of FMLA & Pregnancy Law
  5. $150,000 settlement for West Hills Financial Officer Fired While on Disability Leave

To speak to a California Family Rights Act lawyer, call 1-877-525-0700 toll free. We handle all cases on a contingency fee basis with no upfront costs. Hablamos Español.