New Parent Leave Act

California’s New Parent Leave Act (NPLA) was in effect between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2020. It is no longer in effect because the California Family Rights Act was expanded to allow more parents to take leave to bond with their new babies.
However, if you requested or took leave between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2020, your leave may have been covered by the NPLA which allowed California moms and dads the opportunity to take job protected leave to bond with a new baby. The law covered employers with at least 20 employees within a 75-mile radius of the employee’s worksite (the California Family Rights Act covered larger employers with 50+ employees but has now been expanded to cover employers with just 5 employees).

To be eligible for leave under the New Parent Leave Act, an employee must have worked for their employer for at least 12 months and have worked at least 1250 hours within the prior 12 months. The employer must have 20-49 employees working within a 75-mile radius of the employee’s jobsite. Like the Family and Medical Leave Act and the California Family Rights Act, parental leave under the New Parent Leave Act can be taken any time within the first year of a child’s birth, adoption, or foster-care placement.

 

Though leave under the New Parent Leave Act is unpaid, parents may be eligible for partial wage reimbursement for up to six weeks by obtaining California Paid Family Leave through California’s Employment Development Department (EDD). In addition, during the bonding leave, employers will need to maintain the employee’s health insurance at the same level they would maintain it if the employee did not take leave.

 

Employees already eligible for leave under the CFRA or FMLA do not get additional leave under this law. However, women who are disabled because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition may take pregnancy disability leave and an additional 12 weeks of leave to bond with their new baby after their pregnancy disability leave ends.

 

Employers cannot take any adverse action against an employee because the employee has taken leave under the New Parent Leave Act. Adverse actions might include termination, demotion, or a transfer to a less desirable position or location.

Q&A’s About New Parent Leave Act

Can I take Pregnancy Disability Leave and leave under the New Parent Leave Act?

If you are eligible for leave under both the Pregnancy Disability Leave Law and the New Parent Leave Act, you can take pregnancy disability leave for the time you are disabled because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition and then, when you are no longer disabled, you can take an additional 12 weeks of bonding leave.

Can I take 12 weeks of leave under the New Parent Leave Act and 12 weeks of leave under the California Family Rights Act?

No, you cannot take leave under both the New Parent Leave Act and the California Family Rights Act. When the New Parent Leave Act was in effect, it applied when there were 20-49 employees within a 75-mile radius of your worksite and the California Family Rights Act applied when there were 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius of your worksite. Beginning on January 1, 2021, the California Family Rights Act was expanded to cover both large and smaller employers and the New Parent Leave Act was no longer necessary. 

If you feel you may have been denied leave you were entitled to, please contact our office.

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