Employer Obligations to Pay FMLA

Answer:

One issue that comes up is, if you take leave, is you employer obligated to pay you while you’re out on Family Medical Leave Act, or a lot of times, what we’d call the California Family Rights Act. For the most part, the answer is, no, your employer isn’t required to pay you while you’re out on FMLA leave or CFRA leave. With that being said, if you have leave available to you, either paid time off or vacation or sick leave, the employer has to make that available to you.

Sometimes, if you’re disabled as a result of an underlying injury, in addition to being compensated from your employer through paid time off, vacation, or sick leave, once that money is exhausted you might be able to file a claim for state disability. It’s also important to note that if you’re taking leave as a result of an injury at work, you should understand that in addition to taking leave under the Family Medical Leave Act you also should look at whether or not you should file a claim for workers’ compensation and receive disability payments or wage replacement payments while on workers’ comp.

While an employer isn’t required to pay you while you’re out on FMLA leave, there are various ways to get paid while on FMLA. If you have any questions about whether or not there is money there to be paid to you while you’re on FMLA, feel free to give us a call. We can identify what rights you have under FMLA or CFRA and whether or not the employer is obligated to compensate you while you’re out on leave, or other resources that might be available.