Who qualifies for CFRA leave
CFRA is in Government Code §12945.2. Under current law it generally covers employers with five or more employees. To be eligible, you generally need more than 12 months of service with the employer and at least 1,250 hours worked in the 12 months before the leave. Eligible employees can take up to 12 workweeks of leave in a 12-month period.
The leave can be used for your own serious health condition, to care for a family member with a serious health condition, to bond with a new child by birth, adoption or foster placement, and for certain military family needs. The list of family members is broader than under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and includes, for example, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, domestic partners and, under current law, a designated person. CFRA leave itself is generally unpaid, but you may be able to receive wage replacement through the state's Paid Family Leave or State Disability Insurance programs, administered by the EDD.
Your right to return to work
When CFRA leave ends, the employer must generally reinstate you to the same or a comparable position, with the same pay, benefits and working conditions. During the leave, the employer must generally maintain your group health coverage on the same terms as if you were working.
The right to reinstatement is not absolute. An employer can generally still lay you off if your position would have been eliminated anyway, for example in a genuine reduction in force that has nothing to do with your leave. The employer has to be able to show that. A layoff that happens to target the person on leave, a sudden negative review after you return, or a replacement who was hired while you were away deserves a closer look.
Retaliation and interference
CFRA prohibits an employer from refusing to grant leave you are entitled to, interfering with your leave, or discharging, disciplining or otherwise discriminating against you because you requested or took it. Discouraging you from taking leave, counting protected leave against you in attendance policies or demanding that you work while on leave can also be problems.
If your own health condition is also a disability, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) can give additional protection. Employers must generally engage in a timely, good-faith interactive process and provide reasonable accommodation, which can include additional leave beyond CFRA, unless it would cause undue hardship. Termination because of a disability, or because you asked for an accommodation, can be unlawful even if CFRA leave has run out.
What to do if you were let go
Write down the dates of your leave request, the employer's responses, your leave and your return, and when and how you were told about the termination. Keep doctor's notes you gave the employer, leave approval emails and any messages about your performance before and after the leave. Do not include more medical detail than necessary when sharing documents.
CFRA and FEHA claims generally start with a complaint to the California Civil Rights Department (CRD), which can issue a right-to-sue notice. Federal FMLA claims follow different rules and deadlines. Because the routes and deadlines differ, an employment attorney can check which claims fit your situation before you sign any severance agreement.
Your next steps
- Check whether you were eligible: employer size, more than 12 months of service and 1,250 hours in the past year.
- A firing during or after leave is not automatically unlawful, but timing and the employer's reasons matter.
- Keep your leave requests, approvals and the termination notice, and write down a timeline.
Sources and legal basis
- California Government Code §12945.2 (CFRA)
- California Civil Rights Department: family, medical and pregnancy leave
- California Government Code §12940 (FEHA)
- EDD: Paid Family Leave
General information about federal and California law as of October 30, 2026, not legal advice. Your facts and later changes in the law can change the answer. A request does not stop any deadline.