Free Professional in Human Resources - California (PHRca) CA Leaves and Benefits Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An employee at a company with 30 employees in California gives notice that she needs to take time off to participate in her child's school play. Under California's School Activities Leave law, which of the following is true?
- The employer is not required to provide this leave as it only applies to school emergencies.
- The employee is entitled to up to 40 hours of paid leave per year for these activities.
- The employer must provide up to 40 hours of unpaid leave per year, capped at 8 hours per month. (Correct answer)
- This leave is only available to employees of companies with 50 or more employees.
Correct answer: The employer must provide up to 40 hours of unpaid leave per year, capped at 8 hours per month.
California Labor Code Section 230.8 requires employers with 25 or more employees to provide eligible employees with up to 40 hours of unpaid leave per year (capped at 8 hours per month) to participate in their children's school or child care activities.
Question 2: An employee has worked for a California employer for two years and has accrued 40 hours of paid sick leave for the year. The employee requests to use three days of this leave to care for a sick grandparent. According to California's 'Kin Care' law, how must the employer handle this request?
- Deny the request, as 'Kin Care' only applies to the illness of a child, parent, or spouse.
- Approve the request, as employees can use up to half of their annual sick leave to care for a grandparent. (Correct answer)
- Approve the request but require the employee to find a replacement for their shifts.
- Deny the request because the employee did not provide a doctor's note for the grandparent.
Correct answer: Approve the request, as employees can use up to half of their annual sick leave to care for a grandparent.
California's 'Kin Care' law (Labor Code Section 233) allows an employee to use up to half of their annually accrued sick leave to care for a family member, which includes a child, parent, spouse, domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling.
Question 3: A pregnant employee at a company with 15 employees in California is experiencing a pregnancy-related disability and needs to take leave. Which of the following statements about her leave rights is most accurate?
- She is not eligible for any job-protected leave because the company has fewer than 50 employees.
- She is eligible for up to 12 weeks of leave under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) for her disability.
- She is eligible for up to four months of job-protected Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL). (Correct answer)
- She must have worked for the company for at least 1,250 hours in the past 12 months to qualify for PDL.
Correct answer: She is eligible for up to four months of job-protected Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL).
California's Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) law applies to employers with five or more employees and provides up to four months of job-protected leave per pregnancy for an employee disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition. There is no length of service or hours-worked requirement to be eligible for PDL.
Question 4: Which of the following is a key difference between the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) regarding pregnancy and baby bonding?
- FMLA provides paid leave, while CFRA provides unpaid leave.
- CFRA leave can be taken to care for a domestic partner, while FMLA leave cannot. (Correct answer)
- FMLA and CFRA both run concurrently with California's Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL).
- CFRA covers pregnancy as a serious health condition, while FMLA does not.
Correct answer: CFRA leave can be taken to care for a domestic partner, while FMLA leave cannot.
A significant difference is that CFRA's definition of a family member is broader, including registered domestic partners, while FMLA does not. Additionally, PDL runs concurrently with FMLA but not with CFRA, allowing an eligible employee to take PDL and then a subsequent 12 weeks of CFRA for baby bonding.
Question 5: An employer with 100 employees in California uses the front-loading method for paid sick leave, providing 40 hours (5 days) to each employee at the beginning of the year. Under the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014, what is the employer's obligation regarding the carryover of unused sick leave?
- The employer must allow employees to carry over up to 80 hours of unused sick leave.
- The employer is not required to carry over any unused sick leave to the next year. (Correct answer)
- The employer must pay out all unused sick leave at the end of the year.
- The employer must allow employees to carry over up to 40 hours of unused sick leave.
Correct answer: The employer is not required to carry over any unused sick leave to the next year.
When an employer uses the front-loading method and provides the full amount of required leave (at least 40 hours or 5 days) at the beginning of each year, California law does not require the carryover of unused paid sick leave from one year to the next.
Question 6: California's Paid Family Leave (PFL) program provides wage replacement benefits for certain qualifying reasons. Which of the following is NOT a primary qualifying reason to receive PFL benefits?
- To care for a seriously ill grandparent.
- To bond with a new child within one year of birth, adoption, or foster care placement.
- To take time off for the employee's own serious health condition. (Correct answer)
- To support a family member's military deployment to a foreign country.
Correct answer: To take time off for the employee's own serious health condition.
California's Paid Family Leave (PFL) provides partial wage replacement to employees who take time off work to care for a seriously ill family member (including grandparents), bond with a new child, or for a qualifying exigency related to a family member's military deployment. An employee's own serious health condition is covered by State Disability Insurance (SDI), not PFL.
Free Professional in Human Resources - California (PHRca) CA Leaves and Benefits Questions and Answers
An employee at a company with 30 employees in California gives notice that she needs to take time off to participate in her child's school play.
Under California's School Activities Leave law, which of the following is true?