When a new child enters your family, your entire life changes forever. You need to build a firm foundation with your new addition, and California has laws in place to ensure that you have time to bond.
You need to understand your rights under the state’s baby bonding leave laws so you can make sure your employer allows you the time off that you both need and deserve. If your employer fails to do so, you may be able to take legal action.
Yadegar, Minoofar & Soleymani, LLP can help. Our employment law attorneys in LA have more than 85 years of combined experience fighting for workers, and we know the laws impacting pregnant women and new parents very well.
We’ll bring our legal knowledge to your claim so you can take swift action to pursue all appropriate legal remedies if your right to bond with your child is being interfered with.
To find out more about how a Los Angeles pregnancy discrimination attorney can help you, give us a call or contact us online today. You can also read more about how baby bonding laws work in The Golden State.
What is the California baby bonding law?
The California Family Rights Act is a state law entitling you to take time off to bond with your baby. This time off is often referred to as CFRA Leave.
Under the CFRA, new mothers and fathers both have the right to take up to 12 weeks of time off from work if:
- A child is born to them
- They adopt a child
- A child enters their home through foster care
The parent must also have worked for the employer for at least 12 total months before the time that the parental leave is taken, and must have worked a minimum of 1,250 hours for the employer during the prior 12-month period.
This law applies to California companies with five or more workers. It’s separate from the Family and Medical Leave Act, which is a federal law allowing you to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave when certain triggering events happen, such as the birth or adoption of a child or a family member developing a serious medical condition. However, FMLA and CFRA leave can run concurrently.
It is also separate from California’s Pregnancy Disability Leave Law, which allows pregnant mothers to take up to four months of time off for disability caused by pregnancy or childbirth, and from California’s Paid Family Leave (PFL), which provides temporary disability insurance to eligible employees who take up to 8 weeks off to bond with a new child.
How can a California pregnancy discrimination lawyer help?
Because California has multiple laws in place that may guarantee leave both during and after pregnancy, it is important to understand your rights. Unfortunately, sometimes employers violate those rights, which could mean you have the right to pursue a legal claim for damages.
Yadegar, Minoofar & Soleymani, LLP knows California’s baby bonding laws inside and out. We can work with you to understand your rights if your employer has improperly denied you benefits guaranteed by law.
We’ll also help you pursue appropriate remedies, such as getting an injunction to force your employer to allow leave, getting the court to require your employer to reinstate your job if you were terminated for taking leave, or getting you fair compensation for losses caused by the discriminatory behavior.
To find out more about how our experienced LA discrimination attorneys can help, give us a call or contact us online today.