Employment: leave.

The Moore-Brown-Roberti Family Rights Act makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, as defined, to refuse to grant a request by an eligible employee to take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid protected leave during any 12-month period (1) to bond with a child who was born to, adopted by, or placed for foster care with, the employee, (2) to care for the employee's parent, spouse, or child who has a serious health condition, as defined, or (3) because the employee is suffering from a serious health condition rendering him or her unable to perform the functions of the job. Under the act, an employee is required to have more than 12 months of service with the employer and at least 1,250 hours of service with the employer during the previous 12-month period. The act authorizes an employer to refuse to reinstate an employee returning from leave under specified circumstances. This bill would designate an eligible employee as an entitled employee. The bill, with respect to a public or private school employee, would require either 1,250 hours of service with the employer during the previous 12-month period or service during that period of at least 60% of the hours that an employee who is employed full time is required to perform in a school year. The bill would exempt public and private school employees from that reinstatement exception.