Below are the different types of leaves of absence available to employees, including those mandated by local, state, and/or federal law, as well as those provided under college policy. Employees are encouraged to request a leave in advance, if possible. Some examples of leaves covered in this section are jury duty, bereavement leave, family and medical leave (FMLA), pregnancy disability leave (PDL), etc.

All leave requests, whether mandated by the state or personal, are handled through Human Resources. If you believe that you need to take a long-term leave of absence, please contact our third-party vendor, Tristar at (844)-702-2352 or email leaves@cca.edu and review the Procedures section below.

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• Shorter-Term Leaves of Absence
• Longer-Term Leaves of Absence
• Procedures for Longer-Term Leaves of Absence
• Other Types of Leaves of Absence

Jury Duty & Witness Duty Leave

CCA encourages all employees to serve civil court jury duty when duly summoned. Employees should notify their manager as soon as they receive a court notice or summons. The manager may request written verification from the court clerk of the staff member’s service. If the employee is excused from court on any day, they should report to management for work direction.

All employees will receive regular base pay while serving up to 20 days jury or witness duty. Time away for Jury Duty should be submitted in Workday.

An employee called to serve as an expert witness in a judicial proceeding on behalf of the State will be granted leave with pay. An employee who is summoned to appear in court as an expert witness, but not on behalf of the State may use available vacation time to cover the period of absence.

Employees subpoenaed for witness duty must notify their manager as soon as possible.

Bereavement Leave

In the event of the death of an employee’s loved one, the employee may be absent for up to 5 work days for each particular instance to attend funeral or memorial arrangements, resolve financial matters such as inheritance or estate affairs, or for personal mourning. Staff regular will receive pay for this time off. Other employees may choose to have time for bereavement paid out of sick time accruals. Bereavement leave need not be consecutive but must be completed within 3 months of the death. A longer absence from work must be approved by the manager and taken as vacation leave or unpaid leave if vacation has been exhausted. Employees who are eligible for this leave should submit their request through Workday. The college reserves the right to require documentation of the death (e.g., death certificate, obituary, documentation from funeral home). Documentation includes, but is not limited to, a death certificate, a published obituary, or written verification of death, burial, or memorial services from a mortuary, funeral home, burial society, crematorium, religious institution, or governmental agency.

CCA will maintain the confidentiality of any employee requesting leave under this policy including documentation provided to CCA related to a request for leave.

Bereavement leave will be granted according to the following schedule:

• Employees are allowed up to 5 days off from regularly scheduled duties in the event of the death of their spouse, domestic partner, parent, grandparent, child [including an unborn child], stepchild, grandchild, sibling, current in-law or an adult who stood in loco parentis to the employee during childhood, or an approved designated person.
• Employees are allowed 2 days off from regular scheduled duty in the event of the death of the employee's close friend, aunt, uncle, nephew, niece or cousin.
• Employees are allowed up to 1 day of bereavement leave to attend the funeral of a fellow regular employee or retiree of the college, provided such absence from duty will not interfere with normal operations of the college.

Reproductive Loss Leave

Employees who have been employed for at least 30 days will be provided with up to five (5) days of reproductive loss leave following a reproductive loss event. Employees who experience more than one reproductive loss event within a 12-month period are limited to twenty (20) days of reproductive loss leave in a 12-month period. For purposes of this policy, a reproductive loss event means the day or, for a multiple-day event, the final day of a failed adoption, failed surrogacy, miscarriage, stillbirth, or an unsuccessful assisted reproduction via artificial insemination or an embryo transfer.

Leave may only be taken on regularly scheduled workdays. Leave does not need to be taken on consecutive days. Leave must be completed within three (3) months of the reproductive loss event, except that if an employee is on some other leave from work prior to or immediately following a reproductive loss event, the reproductive loss leave is available for use during the three (3) months following the end date of the other leave.

Reproductive loss leave is unpaid, except to the extent the employee is eligible for paid leave for these purposes under other CCA policies. An employee may elect to use accrued vacation or sick leave to receive pay during any unpaid leave taken under this policy. Leave provided pursuant to this policy will run concurrently with any other applicable leave of absence for covered reasons, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law. The substitution of paid time for unpaid leave time does not extend the length of leave and the paid time will run concurrently with an employee’s reproductive loss leave entitlement.

Employees must inform their supervisor prior to commencing reproductive loss leave.

CCA will maintain the confidentiality of any employee requesting leave under this policy including information provided to CCA related to a request for leave.

Voting Leave

In the event an employee does not have sufficient time outside of working hours to vote in a statewide election, the employee may take off sufficient working time to vote. They should take this time off at the beginning or end of the regular shift, and when possible give their manager supervisor at least two days’ notice. Staff employees who are eligible for this leave should submit their request through Workday at least two working days in advance to arrange a voting time. the college’s approved time-off system or processes. A maximum of two hours can be paid and overtime rules would apply.

Family-School Partnership Act

This act allows parents, guardians, or grandparents who have custody of their children/grandchildren to take up to 40 hours off from work each school year, but no more than eight hours in any month, as long as they give their employer reasonable advance notice. Staff employees may be required to use accrued paid (vacation or sick) leave or to take unpaid time off.

Family & Medical Leave (FMLA)

As an employee, you may be entitled to a leave of absence under the Family and Medical Leave Act (”FMLA”) and/or the California Family Rights Act (”CFRA”). This policy is intended to provide you with information concerning FMLA/CFRA entitlements and obligations you may have during such leaves. If you have any questions concerning FMLA/CFRA leave, please contact Human Resources at leaves@cca.edu.

The college grants family and medical leave in accordance with the requirements of applicable state and federal laws in effect at the time the leave is granted. No greater or lesser leave benefits will be granted than those set forth in such state or federal laws. Please contact Human Resources as soon as you become aware of the need for a family or medical leave. The following is a summary of the relevant provisions. A more detailed statement of leave requirements will be provided when a leave is requested. Certain restrictions on these benefits may apply.

The FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. Eligible employees are entitled to:

Twelve work weeks of leave in a 12-month period for:

Eligible Leave Reasons (based on type):

• the birth of a child and to care for the newborn child within one year of birth;
• the placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care and to care for the newly placed child within one year of placement;
• to care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition;
• a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of their job;
• any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a covered military member on “covered active duty;” or

Twenty-six work weeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness if the eligible employee is the service member’s spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin (military caregiver leave).

California Family Leave (CFRA)

This leave is used for the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of an employee’s child (child bonding).

• To care for their own serious health condition or that of a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, domestic partner, or designated person.
• The qualifying exigency related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of an employee’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the U.S. Armed Forces.

For definitions regarding eligibility under this leave, please reference the CFRA website.

When the leave is to care for the employee’s own serious health condition, then the condition must make the employee unable to perform the functions of their position.

Note: CFRA does not provide leave for an employee’s disability caused by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, but California’s Pregnancy Disability Leave does.

Please reference the Designated Person Policy defined in this handbook for full details.

Staff member eligibility for FMLA and CFRA

To be eligible for family and medical leave benefits, an employee must have worked for the college for a total of at least 12 months, with at least 1,250 hours worked during the previous 12 months, at a location where at least 50 employees are employed by the college within 75 miles.

Leave Available for FMLA and CFRA

Under most circumstances, leave under federal and state law will run at the same time and the eligible employee will be entitled to a total of 12 weeks of family and medical leave in the designated 12-month period. A 12-month rolling period begins on the date of an employee’s first use of federal family or medical leave. Successive 12-month periods commence on the date of a staff member’s first use of such leave after the preceding 12-month period has ended. The 12 months of service need not be consecutive.

Under some circumstances, employees may take family or medical leave intermittently—that is, in blocks of time, or by reducing their normal weekly or daily work schedule. This must be approved by Human Resources and Manager.

FMLA Military Leave

If you are called into active military service, you enlist in the uniformed services, or you attend yearly Reserves or National Guard duty, you will be eligible to receive an unpaid military leave of absence. You should give management as much advance notice of your need for military leave as possible so that we can maintain proper coverage while you are away. An employee should bring their military service orders to the Office of Human Resources for review prior to commencement of the leave.

Military Family Leave Entitlements Family Military Leave

To the extent mandated by law, employees may receive extended unpaid FMLA leave in connection with a serious injury or illness while on active military duty. Employees who work more than 20 hours per week and have a spouse in the United States Armed Forces, the National Guard or the Reserves who have been deployed during a period of military conflict are eligible for up to 10 unpaid days off while their spouse is home during a qualified leave period.

When an employee is also eligible for military family member exigency leave, leave under this policy shall also count toward the employee’s leave entitlement under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), where the time off meets the definition of FMLA military exigency leave. A leave taken due to the need to care for a service member shall be supported by a certification by the service member's healthcare provider or other certification allowed by law. Special certification requirements apply to leaves related to military service.

San Francisco allows employees who are members of the U.S. military to take paid military leave for one or more days at a time for up to 30 days per year. It requires employers to pay active military members the difference between their military pay and the amount they would have received from their employer working their regular schedule while they are on military duty.

For the purposes of this policy, please reference this U.S. Department of Labor document for definitions.

Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL)

An employee disabled due to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition may take up to a maximum of four months’ leave. Employees who take time off for pregnancy disability and who are eligible for family and medical leave (FMLA) will also be placed on family and medical leave that runs at the same time as their pregnancy disability leave.

As CCA complies with federal, state, and local accommodation practices, an alternative, the college may transfer the employee to a less strenuous or hazardous position if the employee so requests, on the advice of their physician, if the transfer can reasonably be accommodated. The alternative position need not consist of equivalent duties, but must have the equivalent rate of pay and benefits. The employee must be qualified for the position. The position must better accommodate the employee’s leave requirements than their regular job. Transfer to an alternative position can include altering an existing job to better accommodate the employee’s need for intermittent leave or a reduced work schedule.

Once the pregnant employee is no longer disabled, or once the employee has exhausted PDL and has given birth, they may apply for leave under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), for purposes of baby bonding.

The following procedures shall apply when an employee requests family or medical leave:

• Please contact Human Resources at leaves@cca.edu as soon as you realize the need for family or medical leave. If the leave is based on the expected birth, placement for adoption or foster care, or planned medical treatment for a serious health condition of the employee or a family member, the employee must notify the college at least 30 days before leave is to begin. The employee must consult with their manager regarding scheduling of any planned medical treatment in order to minimize disruption to the operations of the college. Any such scheduling is subject to the approval of the health care provider of the employee or the health care provider of the employee’s family member
• If the employee cannot provide 30 days’ notice, the college must be informed as soon as is practical.
• If the Family and Medical Leave Act/California Family Rights Act request is made because of the employee’s own serious health condition, the college may require, at its expense, a second opinion from a health care provider that the college chooses. The health care provider designated to give a second opinion will not be one who is employed on a regular basis by the college.
• If the second opinion differs from the first opinion, the college may require, at its expense, the employee to obtain the opinion of a third health care provider designated or approved jointly by the employer and the employee. The opinion of the third health care provider shall be considered final and binding on the college and the employee.
• The employee will be connected with the college’s leave vendor to discuss eligibility, rights and responsibilities, and pay.

Notice and Certification Requirements

Employees seeking to use family or medical leave may be required to provide the following:

• 30-day advance notice when the need for the leave is foreseeable
• medical certification from a health care provider (both prior to the leave and prior to reinstatement)
• periodic recertification and periodic reports during the leave
  

When leave is needed for planned medical treatment for an immediate family member or the employee's own serious health condition, the employee must try to schedule treatment so as to minimize disruption to college operations.

When both parents are employed by the College, and request simultaneous leave for the birth or placement for adoption or foster care of a child, the college will grant up to a total of 12 work weeks of family and medical leave for each parent for this reason.

Compensation During Leave

Different types of leave may be eligible for compensation from the state or from the employer. Please see some examples below and reference the Employment Development Department Office for further information or visit the EDD’s website at https://edd.ca.gov/sdi_online.

Family and medical leave is unpaid. The use of accrued sick time or vacation time is permitted but not required.

Paid Family Leave Benefits

Paid Family Leave (PFL) is a component of the State Disability Insurance program that is administered by the Employment Development Department (EDD). Paid family leave provides compensation: (i) to care for a child, parent, spouse, registered domestic partner, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling, with a serious health condition; (ii) to bond with a minor child within the first year of the child’s birth or placement in connection with foster care or adoption; or (iii) to participate in a qualifying exigency related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of the employee’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Armed Forces of the United States. The state is solely responsible for determining if an employee is eligible for such benefits.

If you need to take time off work to care for a covered reason above, please advise Human Resources at leaves@cca.edu and you will be given information about the EDD’s PFL program and how to apply for benefits. Employees also may contact their local Employment Development Department Office for further information or visit the EDD’s website at www.edd.ca.gov.

Any time off for Paid Family Leave purposes will run concurrently with other leaves of absence, such as Family and Medical Leave, if applicable. Please see the “Family and Medical Leave” policy in this Employee Handbook for eligibility requirements.

PFL benefits do not replace all of your usual wages. Your PFL benefits will be supplemented with any accrued and unused sick leave, unless you are receiving wage replacement through a disability benefit plan (regardless of whether the plan is employer provided or mandatory under state or federal law, such as state disability insurance).

San Francisco Paid Parental Leave (SFPPL)

San Francisco law requires employers to provide supplemental compensation in addition to California Paid Family Leave to employees bonding with a child.

If you have a new child, you might be eligible for compensation up to 8 weeks by CCA. Please view details about the program here. Please note that you are required to repay the employer benefit portion if you voluntarily leave the college within 90 days of returning from your leave. The San Francisco Paid Parental Leave is only available to employees who work in San Francisco.

State Disability Insurance (SDI)

Employees who are absent because of their own disability may be eligible for State Disability Insurance (SDI) benefits. SDI payments do not begin until after you have been absent from work for 7 calendar days. If you have accrued sick leave, sick leave will be used for the first 7 days before SDI payments begin, unless you are receiving wage replacement through a disability benefit plan (regardless of whether the plan is employer provided). If you do not have accrued sick leave, but do have accrued vacation, vacation will be substituted for the unpaid absence.

SDI benefits do not replace all of your usual wages. Your SDI benefits can be supplemented with any accrued and unused sick leave, unless you are receiving wage replacement for a disability benefit plan (regardless of whether the plan is employer provided). The use of accrued sick time or vacation time is permitted but not required.

Benefits During Leave

CCA maintains group health insurance coverage for an employee on family or medical leave (for a maximum of 12 work weeks; 26 work weeks if the leave is to care for a covered service member; or up to four months for employees on pregnancy disability leave) if such insurance was provided before the leave was taken, and on the same terms as if the employee had continued to work. The college may recover premiums it paid to maintain health coverage for an employee who fails to maintain the employee portion of the premiums, or return to work following a family or medical leave.

Payment is due when it would be made by payroll deduction, or can be prepaid in the event the individual stops receiving payroll deductions.

Reinstatement

Under most circumstances, upon submission of a medical certification that an employee is able to return to work from family or medical, or pregnancy disability leave, a staff employee will be reinstated to their original job, or to an equivalent job with equivalent pay, benefits, and other employment terms and conditions. However, an employee has no greater right to reinstatement than if they had been continuously employed rather than on leave. For example, if an employee on family or medical leave would have been laid off had they not gone on leave, or if their job was eliminated or filled in order to avoid undermining the college’s ability to operate safely and efficiently while they were on leave, and there are no equivalent jobs available, then the employee would not be entitled to reinstatement.

If intermittent leave or leave on a reduced work schedule is medically advisable the employee may, in some instances, be required to transfer temporarily to an available alternative position that meets the employee’s needs. The alternative position need not consist of equivalent duties, but must have the equivalent rate of pay and benefits. The employee must be qualified for the position. The position must better accommodate the employee’s leave requirements than their regular job. Transfer to an alternative position can include altering an existing job to better accommodate the employee’s need for intermittent leave or a reduced work schedule.

Upon submission of a medical certification that an employee is able to return to work from a pregnancy disability leave, an employee will be reinstated to their same position held at the time the leave began or, in certain instances, to a comparable position, if available. There are limited exceptions to this policy. An employee returning from a pregnancy disability leave has no greater right to reinstatement than if the employee had been continuously employed.

If because of a physical or mental disability, a staff member returning from medical leave taken for their own serious health condition is in need of reasonable disability accommodation to be able to perform the functions of their job, the employee should request accommodations by communications with the Human Resources at hr@cca.edu.

The college may hold in abeyance or proceed with any counseling, performance reviews, or disciplinary action, including discharge, that were contemplated prior to an employee’s request for or receipt of a leave of absence. If such action is held in abeyance during the period of leave of absence, the college reserves the right to proceed with such action upon the employee’s return. Requesting or receiving a leave of absence in no way relieves a staff member of their obligation while on the job to perform their job responsibilities capably and up to the college’s expectations and to observe all college policies, rules, and procedures.

Time Accrual

Employees on Family or Medical Leave, or California Family Leave will not continue to accrue vacation and sick time. Employee accruals continue when using sick and vacation time.

Return to Work/Fitness for Duty Medical Certifications

Employees returning to work from FMLA/CFRA leaves that were taken because of their own serious health conditions that made them unable to perform their jobs must provide Human Resources with medical certification confirming they are able to return to work and perform the essential functions of the position, with or without restrictions. The college may delay and/or deny job restoration until employees provide return to work/fitness for duty certifications.

Time Off For Victims of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault or Stalking Leave and Accommodation

Employees who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking are eligible for unpaid leave to the extent mandated by law. You may request leave if you are involved in a judicial action, such as obtaining restraining orders, or appearing in court to obtain relief to ensure your health, safety, or welfare, or that of your child. More information can be found here.

You should provide notice and certification of your need to take leave under this policy. Certification may be sufficiently provided by any of the following:

• A police report indicating that the employee was a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking;
• A court order protecting or separating the employee from the perpetrator of an act of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, or other evidence from the court or prosecuting attorney that the employee appeared in court; or
• Documentation from a medical professional, domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking victim advocate, health-care provider, or counselor that the employee was undergoing treatment for physical or mental injuries or abuse resulting in victimization from an act of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.

Employees who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking and need a reasonable accommodation for their safety at work should contact Human Resources to discuss the need for an accommodation. If you are requesting reasonable accommodation, you will need to submit a written statement signed by you, or by an individual acting on your behalf, certifying that the accommodation is for the purpose of your safety at work.

For reasonable accommodation requests, the college will also require certification demonstrating that you are the victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. Any of the forms of certification described above the leave purposes will suffice. The college may request recertification every six months from the date of the previous certification. You should notify the college when an approved accommodation is no longer needed. Whenever possible, you must provide your supervisor reasonable notice before taking any time off under this policy.

Victims of Crime Leave

An employee who is themselves a victim or who is the family member of a victim of certain serious crimes may take time off from work to attend judicial proceedings related to the crime or to attend proceedings involving rights of the victim.

A family member of a crime victim may be eligible for this leave if the family member is the crime victim’s spouse, parent, child or sibling. Other family members may also be covered depending on the purpose of the leave.

The absence from work must be in order to attend judicial proceedings or proceedings involving rights of the victim. Only certain crimes are covered. You must provide reasonable advance notice of your need for leave, and documentation related to the proceeding may be required. If advance notice is not possible, you must provide appropriate documentation within a reasonable time after the absence.

An absence from work to attend judicial proceedings or proceedings involving victim rights will be unpaid, unless you choose to use any earned paid time off.

For more information regarding this leave (including whether you are covered, when and what type of documentation is required, and which type of paid time off can be used), please contact Human Resources.

Volunteer Civil Service Personnel

No employee shall be disciplined for taking time off to perform emergency duty as a volunteer firefighter, peace officer, or emergency rescue personnel. You are also eligible for unpaid leave for required training. Please alert your supervisor that you may have to take time off for emergency duty. When taking time off for emergency duty, please alert your supervisor before doing so when possible.

An employee who is a volunteer firefighter, reserve peace officer or emergency rescue personnel is permitted unpaid time off, not to exceed fourteen (14) days per calendar year, for the purpose of engaging in fire, law enforcement or emergency rescue training. If you request time off under the policy you must notify your direct supervisor immediately after the need for the leave becomes known.

Civil Air Patrol Leave

No employee with more than 90 days of service shall be disciplined for taking time off to perform emergency duty as a volunteer in the California Civil Air Patrol.  If you are a Civil Air Patrol volunteer, please alert your supervisor that you may have to take time off for emergency duty.  When taking time off for emergency duty, please alert your supervisor before doing so, giving as much advance notice as possible.

Up to ten (10) unpaid days of leave for duty may be taken each year.  However, leave for a single emergency mission cannot exceed 3 days, unless the emergency is extended by the entity in charge of the operation and the extension of leave is approved by the college.

Organ and Bone Marrow Donor Leave

Staff employed for at least 90-days and who are donors for organ or bone marrow may take paid time off as follows:

• Employees are entitled to take up to 60 business days of leave for organ donation in a 12-month period. The first 30 business days must be paid; the remaining leave can be unpaid. The one-year period is calculated from the date the employee begins their leave.
• Employees may take up to 5 business days of paid leave in any one-year period for the purpose of donating bone marrow to another person. The one-year period is calculated from the date the employee's leave begins.

During the leave for organ/bone marrow donors, the college will continue to provide and pay for any group health plan benefits the employee was enrolled in prior to the leave of absence.

Employees who wish to take a leave of absence to donate bone marrow or an organ will be required to provide written verification of the need for leave, including confirmation that the employee is an organ or bone marrow donor and that there is a medical necessity for the donation of the organ or bone marrow.

• The college requires that employees taking leave for organ donation use two weeks (10 days) of accrued but unused paid time off.
• The college requires that employees taking leave for bone marrow donation use five (5) days of accrued but unused paid time off.

Once a Donor has exhausted the required paid time off, the employee will not be paid for the remaining leave of absence.

Leave taken for the purpose of organ or bone marrow donation is not leave for the purpose of family medical leave under The California Family Rights Act, or Family and Medical Leave Act. Upon return of an approved leave, the college will restore the employee to the position they held when the leave began or to a position with equivalent employee benefits, pay and other terms and conditions of employment. However, an employee has no greater right to reinstatement than if they had been continuously employed rather than on leave.

Personal Leave

A personal leave of absence, without pay, may be granted at the college’s discretion. Requests for personal leave should be limited to unusual circumstances that require an absence of longer than two weeks. Approved personal absences of shorter duration are not normally treated as leaves, but rather as excused absences without pay and are handled through Workday. Staff members are required to use accrued vacation time while on personal leave.

A written request for a personal leave should be presented to the staff employee’s manager and HR at least two (2) weeks before the anticipated start of the leave. If the leave is requested for medical reasons and you are not eligible for FMLA and CFRA, medical certification also must be submitted. Your request will be considered on the basis of staffing requirements and the reasons for the requested leave, as well as your performance and attendance records.

During unpaid leaves, staff members do not accrue vacation or sick days. Failure to return to work when notified or your continued absence from work beyond the time approved by the college will be considered a voluntary resignation of your employment.

Upon completion of your personal leave of absence, the college will attempt to return you to your original job, or to a similar position, subject to prevailing business considerations. Reinstatement, however, is not guaranteed for personal leaves.