Law Opens Door to Family Leave

Anew family-leave law went into effect at the beginning of this year.

The state Family Rights Act of 1991 requires companies with 50 or more employees to allow their workers to take unpaid leaves of absence in certain circumstances to care for family members.

The law involves all sorts of detailed definitions and legalisms, but here are the basics:

* Employees must be granted the leaves in connection with the birth or adoption of a child, or to take care of a sick child, spouse or parent.

* The maximum leave is four months in any 24-month period; the four months do not have to be consecutive.

Union employees will not be affected until their contract expires or on Jan. 1 of next year, whichever comes first.

* Employees with less than one year of continuous service are ineligible.

* Employers may apply accrued vacation time toward the leaves, but not sick time.

* The state Fair Employment and Housing Commission is charged with establishing regulations and enforcing them.

The leaves are to be granted under the following circumstances: birth of your child; serious illness of your child; placement of an adopted child with you; “serious health condition” of a spouse or parent.

Such a condition is defined as “an illness, injury, impairment or physical or mental condition which warrants the participation of a family member to provide care during a period of the treatment or supervision”--and also involves care by a doctor or hospitalization.

Your boss may require a doctor’s certificate to prove that such a health condition exists.

The law requires employers to give returning workers “the same or comparable position,” defined as “a position that has the same or similar duties and pay which can be performed at the same or similar geographic location.”

It also requires employees to give their bosses reasonable notice of leave plans, if the need is foreseeable.

Employers may refuse to grant a leave if it “is necessary to prevent undue hardship to the employer’s operations.”

The law doesn’t define what that might be, but someone will no doubt wind up in court litigating the issue.

Most large companies are developing internal policies to implement this new law.

If you have questions, you should contact the employee relations department--if there is one--at your company.

Klein is an attorney and president of The Times Valley and Ventura County Editions. Brown is professor of law emeritus at USC and chairman of the board for the National Center for Preventive Law. They cannot answer mail personally but will respond in this column to questions of general interest about law. Do not telephone. Write to Jeffrey S. Klein, The Times, 9211 Oakdale Ave. , Chatsworth, Calif. 91311.