SB 63: Small business parental leave rules

Previously, the protections afforded under the California Family Rights Act only applied to employers with at least 50 employees. Under Senate Bill 63, known as the New Parent Leave Act, CFRA protections now apply to smaller employers -- those employers with at least 20 employees within a 75-mile radius of the worksite of an employee seeking leave under the law.

Specifically, SB 63 requires employers to allow employees with at least 1,250 hours of service during the previous 12-month period to take up to 12 weeks of parental leave to bond with a new child within one year of the child's birth, adoption or foster care placement. If both parents entitled to such leave are employed by the same employer, the employer is only required to grant a total of 12 weeks of leave for the same child, which may, but is not required to, be simultaneous.

The law further provides that refusing to hire, discharging, or otherwise discriminating against an employee for exercising the rights provided under this law, or for providing information or testimony in connection with the employee's or another person's parental leave, constitutes an unlawful employment practice.

Finally, SB 63 directs the Department of Fair Employment and Housing to create a "Parental Leave Mediation" pilot program. Under the program, an employer may request (within 60 days of receiving a right to sue notice) that all parties engage in mediation. Complainants are not required to participate in this mediation, however, and may avoid it by simply notifying the department that he or she elects not to participate in, or wishes to withdraw from, the mediation.