| Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and California Family Rights Act (CFRA) FAQs | |
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SFUSD is a covered employer under FMLA and CFRA. 1. What are they? These are statutory laws that provide unpaid job-protected leaves to eligible employees. FMLA is a federal law and CFRA is a state (California) law. 2. How do I become eligible? Prior to starting leave, you:
Note: The District uses a “rolling” 12-month period measured backward from the date of any FMLA and/or CFRA leave usage. 3. What leave reasons qualify under FMLA and CFRA? Time off to care for:
4. How long are FMLA and CFRA leaves? Up to 12 workweeks in a 12-month period. For Military Caregiver up to 26 workweeks in a single 12 month period. Note: Depending on the leave reason, FMLA and CFRA may run concurrently. 5. Who are the family members I can care for? FMLA: Child including > 18 years of age and incapable of self-care, spouse, parent, and next of kin (Military Caregiver). CFRA: Child of any age, spouse, registered domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, and a Designated Person. Complete this form to designate anyone related to you by blood (uncle, cousin, etc.) or similar to a family relationship. NOTE: “Child” includes biological, adopted, foster, step, in loco parentis. “Parent”includes biological, adoptive, step or foster, any person who stood in loco parentis. 6. What is a serious health condition? Illness, injury, impairment or physical or mental condition that involves inpatient care or continuous treatment by a health care provider (HCP).
7. Can FMLA/CFRA leave be taken intermittently (or reduce schedule) instead of continuously? Continuous leave means being away from work for a single, uninterrupted period. Intermittent leave involves taking separate periods of time off, while reduced schedule leave refers to being away for part of a day or week. Both intermittent and reduced schedule leave are allowed when medically necessary for your own or a family member's serious health condition, with a healthcare provider's certification required. For child bonding or placement, intermittent leave can be taken for a minimum of two weeks, except for up to two occasions that may be shorter. See FAQs for more information. |
| FMLA / CFRA FAQs (page 2 of 4) | |
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8. How do I apply for leave? Submit your leave request in Empower 30 days advance or as soon as practicable (here's how). Submit the required documents with your leave request or within 15 days. Cure incomplete documents within 7 days if information is insufficient. 9. What are my obligations if my leave is designated as FMLA and/or CFRA? Maintain open communication. Give two days advance notice if you can return to work earlier. For Medical leave, a Fitness for Duty completed by your healthcare provider must be submitted to Leaves before you can return. 10. What happens when my leave ends? At the end of your leave, you return to work or request a leave extension (do not create a new case unless it’s a different leave reason). 11. What if I am not eligible for FMLA or CFRA, or I have exhausted 12 workweeks of FMLA/CFRA leave? If you do not meet eligibility requirements or you have exhausted FMLA and/or CFRA leave, depending on your job class/ employment type (e.g., civil service classified, certificated, paraeducator), appointment type (e.g., permanent civil service, permanent para), length of employment, etc., you could be eligible for other leaves (e.g., sick leave with pay, leave of absence without pay). If you meet the 1,250 hours but are short in months of service, or vice versa, you can decide to delay your leave until you meet the service requirements. 12. Am I paid by the District during FMLA and/or CFRA? FMLA and CFRA are unpaid leaves. However, depending on your job class, you may or may not be required to use your earned/accrued sick pay. Certificated, Administrator, and Paraeducator must first use their earned and accrued sick pay before they can receive extended sick leave pay depending on the reason (note: leave to care for an ill family member does not qualify for extended sick leave). Civil Service Classified are generally not eligible for extended sick leave. Civil Service Classified may elect other paid time off (vacation, comp time) in lieu of sick pay or choose not to receive any pay. See Table 1 for a summary of leave pay. 13. What are the differences between Sick Pay and Extended Sick Leave Pay? Sick Pay is earned and can be accrued. For example, a full- time teacher earns 10 sick days at the beginning of a fiscal year. Civil service classified staff and paraeducators earn 0.05 sick pay hours for every hour worked. When sick pay is used, you receive full pay (100% of your regular pay or salary). Extended sick leave pay is not earned and cannot be accrued. It is provided to Certificated, Administrators, and Paraeducators with regular assignments on approved leaves for Medical, Pregnancy Disability, and Child Bonding. Extended sick leave is not full pay. It is paid differently depending on your job class and leave reason. Examples are a para receives 50% of their regular pay and a teacher (on a medical leave) receives their daily rate of pay minus a sub dock rate. See Table 1 for a Summary of Leave Pay. 14. What else can affect my pay during my FMLA/CFRA leave? Paraeducator (PAR) and Civil Service Classified (CSC) staff generally qualify for California’s State Disability Insurance (SDI) partial-wage replacement benefits when they cannot work. Certificated staff generally do not qualify. Check your pay statement. If you pay into “CA TX EE DisabilityTax,” you are likely eligible. SDI benefits are administered and paid by California EDD. For CSC - your leave pay credits (e.g, sick, vacation, comp time, extended sick) may be integrated with SDI. For PAR- your leave pay will be automatically integrated with SDI; you must apply for DI and/or PFL (see #15 and Table 1). 15. What are the types of SDI and when do I apply for them? Disability Insurance (DI) - Applicable to medical or pregnancy disability. If eligible, you may receive 60-70% of your salary up to 52 weeks. A 7-day non-payable waiting period applies. Submit your claim at edd.ca.gov/SDI_Online within 49 days. Paid Family Leave (PFL) - Applicable to leave to care for a family member who has serious health condition, for child bonding, or for qualifying military exigency. If eligible, you may receive 60-70% of your salary up to 8 weeks over a 12 month period. There is no waiting period. Submit your claim at edd.ca.gov/SDI_Online within 41 days. |
| FMLA / CFRA FAQs (page 3 of 4) | |||||||||||||||||
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Table 1: Summary of Leave Pay (General Guide)
# Certificated & Paraeducator must have one year of service to receive paid child bonding leave up to 60 work days (must be completed within 1 year of birth, adoption, or foster placement). + Examples of how integration of District wages with State Disability Insurance (DI) works. Para on medical leave works 7 hours daily:
Custodian on child bonding works 8 hours daily:
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| FMLA / CFRA FAQs (page 4 of 4) | |
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16. What are the District’s obligations if I am FMLA and/or CFRA eligible?
17. What else do I need to know? You may have to pay your (employee) health premium contributions directly to SFHSS during your FMLA and/or CFRA leave when:
Whenever permissible by law, FMLA and/or CFRA runs concurrently with other leaves such as sick leave (with or without pay), pregnancy-disability leave, child bonding leave, Workers’ Compensation, etc.
School term employees: School recesses (break periods), school holidays, or non-scheduled work days do not count towards usage of FMLA/CFRA, sick pay, and extended sick pay.
Civil Service Classified and Paraeducators eligible for SDI (Disability Insurance or Paid Family Leave) should send their EDD notices (e.g., award, computation, determination/denial) to payroll to integrate leave pay with SDI accordingly and prevent SDI benefit overpayment.
If you have questions about your pay, contact payroll by submitting a ticket at eis.sfusd.edu or call (415) 463-1550. |
19. How to contact the Leaves Team with your questions or submit documents.
Submit a request through eis.sfusd.edu by completing the form. Under the question “How can we help?” select “I have a question related to my leave of absence (LOA)” from the dropdown menu. To upload a relevant document, click “Add File” in the Attachments field. Include your case number if available.