Here’s a common scenario: Pregnant Pam doesn’t qualify for FMLA or CFRA when she starts her maternity leave 4 weeks before Little One’s due date, but while on leave she’ll reach her one-year work anniversary. Will she qualify for FMLA and CFRA at that point and be able to exercise those benefits? YES, she will!!

FMLA and CFRA are sneaky little bastards. They never fail to mention that in order to qualify for both laws you need to have worked for at 12 months and have worked at least 1,250 hours, but they don’t make it obvious that eligibility can be retroactive. That’s right, retroactive!

FMLA has always allowed for retroactive eligibility, but it’s not common knowledge because it’s noted waaaaay down at the bottom of the regulations. Bastard. (Full text on FMLA regulations here. Retroactive bit is regulation 825.110, paragraph (d).)

But, in all fairness, since FMLA and Pregnancy Disability Leave (a state law that provides employees the right to take job-protected unpaid leave for a pregnancy-related condition; and its eligibility is not dependent on how long you’ve worked at your company nor number of hours you’ve worked) run concurrently, you’re essentially getting the same benefits/job protection on PDL as you would FMLA.

Retroactive eligibility for CFRA is actually new. The California Fair Employment and Housing Council recently issued amendments to CFRA, which will go into effect on July 1, 2015, and one of the revisions is exactly that: an employee who was not eligible for CFRA leave at the start of a leave, can become eligible while they are on leave.  The actual amendment to the law is:

If an employee is not eligible for CFRA leave at the start of a leave because the employee has not met the 12-month length of service requirement, the employee may nonetheless meet this requirement while on leave, because leave to which he/she is otherwise entitled counts toward length of service (although not for the 1,250 hour requirement). The employer should designate the portion of the leave in which the employee has met the 12-month requirement as CFRA leave. For example, if an employee is maintained on the payroll for any part of a week, including any periods of paid or unpaid leave (sick, vacation) during which other benefits or compensation are provided by the employer (e.g. workers’ compensation, group health plan benefits, etc.), the week counts as a week of employment. (Full text on the new regulations is here.)

HR staff should be aware of these changes to CFRA, but it’s definitely worth noting as you finalize your maternity leave timeline so you don’t get gypped. Because if you’re messin’ with my maternity leave, you’re messin’ with my emotions!

There are other important updates to CFRA worth mentioning. Stay tuned for a post on that soon!