Family Leave: Court Says Employee’s Misleading Memo About Need for Leave Not an Adequate Notice; What’s Required

Suppose an employee asks to take vacation time over the Christmas holiday to visit his ailing parents—but he doesn’t mention that he will be caring for them during the time off. Do you have to grant the request for time off under the family and medical leave laws? A California Court of Appeal recently answered no. We’ll look at why the court came to that conclusion.

Christmas Vacation Request Denied

Keeley Stevens, a sergeant with the California Department of Corrections, sent his supervisor a memo requesting a one-week vacation to spend Christmas with his parents in Michigan. The memo mentioned his parents’ health had deteriorated significantly and that they might pass away soon. The supervisor wrote back that no vacation slots were open but to let him know if he could help Stevens in “some other way.”

Stevens sued the department, alleging it violated the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) by denying his vacation request. The department countered that Stevens’ request didn’t put the department on notice he needed family leave.

Our HR Management & Compliance Report: How To Comply with California and Federal Leave Laws, covers everything you need to know to stay in compliance with both state and federal law in one of the trickiest areas of compliance for even the most experienced HR professional. Learn the rules for pregnancy and parental leaves, medical exams and certifications, intermittent leaves, required notices, and more.

Incomplete Notice Isn’t Adequate Notice

The Court of Appeal ruled the CFRA didn’t cover Stevens’ request for time off because it didn’t put the department on notice that he intended to take CFRA leave. The court said an em- ployee’s request for vacation time over a holiday to visit his ailing parents—without reference to his intent to care for them—suggests the time off is not for a CFRA-qualifying request. An incomplete notice cannot be considered an adequate notice, said the court.1

What’s Required in a Notice

So just what notice requirements must an employee comply with to be eligible for family leave? Here are some guidelines:

 

1. Format of notice. The employee’s notice to you of the need for time off can be oral or written. There isn’t a specific family leave request form the employee must use, but the notice should contain the anticipated timing and length of the leave.

    

2. States reason leave is needed. The notice must contain information sufficient to make you aware the employee’s reason for missing work could qualify for leave under the CFRA or its federal counterpart, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The employee doesn’t specifically have to mention the CFRA or FMLA. But to qualify, the employee must state the reason the leave is needed, such as, for example, the expected birth of a child, the employee’s own medical treatment, or to care for an ill family member.

    

3. Duty on employer for further details. If there’s doubt about whether the reason qualifies, it’s your duty to make appropriate follow-up inquiries with the employee. However, if an employee requests vacation or other paid leave (other than sick leave), the CFRA says you can’t ask why the time off is being taken; in this situation, you can only inquire further if the person volunteers information indicating the time is or may be for family leave purposes.