State:
Free Special Resources
Get Your FREE Special Report. Download Any One Of These FREE Special Resources, Instantly!
Featured Special Report
Claim Your Free Cost Per Hire Calculator
This handy calculator lets you plug in your expenses for recruiting, benefits, salaries, and more.

Graphs automatically generate to show you your annual cost per hire and a breakdown of where you are spending the most money.

Download Now!
February 29, 2016
California, Illinois, and Nebraska update leave laws

By Susan Schoenfeld, JD, Senior Legal Editor

For a Limited Time receive a FREE Compensation Market Analysis Report! Find out how much you should be paying to attract and retain the best applicants and employees, with customized information for your industry, location, and job. Get Your Report Now!

For more information on these and other recent developments in state leave law, see the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), sick leave, and maternity and pregnancy topic analyses for your state.

California

Use of paid sick leave for kin care

Effective January 1, 2016, employers must allow an employee to use his or her accrued and available paid sick leave entitlement for the diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition of or preventive care for an employee or an employee’s family member. Use of such leave in any calendar year is limited to an amount not less than the sick leave that would be accrued during 6 months at the employee’s then current rate of entitlement.

The employer may limit the use of the remaining days of sick leave for the employee’s own illness. Any conditions or restrictions on the use of sick leave will also apply to the use of sick leave for kin care. The kin care law does not extend the maximum period of leave to which an employee is entitled under the FMLA or California Family Rights Act (CA Lab. Code Sec. 233).

Changes in leave for child-related activities

Effective January 1, 2016, an employer that employs 25 or more employees working at the same location may not discharge or discriminate against an employee who is a parent of a child of the age to attend kindergarten or grades 1 to 12, inclusive, or a licensed childcare provider for taking off up to 40 hours each year for the purpose of the following child-related activities:

  • To find, enroll, or reenroll his or her child in a school or with a licensed childcare provider or to participate in activities of the school or licensed childcare provider of his or her child if the employee, prior to taking the time off, gives reasonable notice to the employer of the planned absence of the employee. Time off for this reason is limited to 8 hours in any calendar month of the year.
  • To address a childcare provider or school emergency, if the employee gives notice to the employer (CA Lab. Code Sec. 230.8).

Illinois

School visitation leave

Illinois grants a limited amount of leave for certain activities relating to school activities through the School Visitation Rights Act. An employer must grant an eligible employee unpaid leave of up to a total of 8 hours during any school year, no more than 4 hours of which may be taken on any given day, to attend school conferences or classroom activities related to the employee’s child if the conference or classroom activities cannot be scheduled during nonwork hours.

No leave may be taken unless the employee has exhausted all accrued vacation leave, personal leave, compensatory leave, and any other leave that may be granted to the employee except sick leave and disability leave. For regularly scheduled, nonemergency visitations, schools must make time available for visitation during both regular school hours and evening hours.

The employee must provide a written request for leave at least 7 days in advance of the time the employee is required to utilize the visitation right. In emergency situations, no more than 24 hours’ notice may be required. The employee must consult with the employer to schedule the leave so as not to unduly disrupt the operations of the employer (820 ILCS 147/15).

An employee is eligible for school visitation leave if he or she works for at least 6 consecutive months immediately preceding a request for leave and works for an average number of hours per week equal to at least one-half the full-time equivalent position in the employer’s job classification, as defined by the employer’s personnel policies or practices or in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement, during those 6 months. Independent contractors are not eligible for school visitation leave. All public and private employers are covered, regardless of size (820 ILCS 147/10).

Nebraska

Reasonable accommodation for pregnancy

Recent amendments to the Nebraska Fair Employment Practices Act (NEFEPA) may make leave available to eligible employees with known physical limitations associated with pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.

The NEFEPA requires that covered employers provide eligible employees and applicants for employment with reasonable accommodation, which may include leave, for “known physical limitations” associated with pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Accommodation is required unless the accommodation would require significant difficulty or expense, posing an undue hardship on the employer.

JenSusan Schoenfeld, JD, is a Senior Legal Editor for BLR’s human resources and employment law publications. Ms. Schoenfeld has practiced in the area of employment litigation and counseling, covering topics such as disability discrimination, wrongful discharge, sexual harassment, and general employment discrimination. She has litigated numerous cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals, state court, and at the U.S. Department of Labor.

In addition to litigating employment cases in state and federal court, she provided training and counseling to corporate clients regarding employment-related issues. Prior to entering private practice, Ms. Schoenfeld was an attorney with the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., where she advised federal agencies, drafted regulations, conducted inspector training courses, and litigated cases for the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, the Directorate of Civil Rights, and the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Ms. Schoenfeld received her undergraduate degree, cum laude, with honors, from Union College, and her law degree from the National Law Center at George Washington University.

Questions? Comments? Contact Susan at sschoenfeld@blr.com for more information on this topic

Featured Free Resource:
Cost Per Hire Calculator
Twitter  Facebook  Linked In
Follow Us
HCMNPWS1
Copyright © 2024 Business & Legal Resources. All rights reserved. 800-727-5257
This document was published on https://Compensation.BLR.com
Document URL: https://compensation.blr.com/Compensation-news/Leave-Benefits/FMLA-Leave-of-Absence/California-Illinois-and-Nebraska-update-leave-laws