labor lawAdivision of labor law center

The new 2009 FMLA regulations present a particular headache for California employers.

That is because most employers in the state are covered by the CFRA, the California Family Rights Act. That law, passed in, was actually the model for the federal FMLA passed in 1993.

The dilemma is that the CFRA specifically adopted the 1995 FMLA regulations – the “old” regulations, to many employers. Meanwhile, the new FMLA regulations apply to many of the same employers.

There are several conflicts between the two sets of regulations. For example, the 2009 FMLA regulations give employers the right to require that an employee produce a fitness-for-duty certificate every 30 days when there are reasonable concerns about the employee’s physical safety due to a serious health condition, and the employee is using FMLA intermittently.

The California regulations do not permit this.

When both federal and state law apply, the employee is entitled to coverage under whichever law provides the greater benefit – to the employee. (more…)