The Benefits You Might Receive When Working In California

California law mandates that employers must provide particular benefits for their employees. We list them out here.

Social Security

Wages (ranging up to a certain amount) are taxed to provide employees with retirement benefits. The federal government provides Social Security to retirees; this is funded through taxes from your payroll. Employees must pay the same amount in taxes to Social Security as employees.

FMLA

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) grants employees the benefit of taking unpaid leave for reasons related to health and family. California employees may be eligible for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for paternity or maternity, severe health conditions, or preparation for a family member entering military service. Most circumstances require that you return to your same job once your leave is up. Additional leave is also available for employees who need to care for family members who might have been seriously injured while serving in the military.

The FMLA applies to employers in charge of at least 50 employees for a period of at least 20 weeks in either the current or preceding year. You are eligible for FMLA protections if you:

• Have worked at your company for at least a year
• Worked at least 1250 hours during that year
• Are working at a location with at least 50 employees located within 75 miles

Pregnancy Disability

Pregnant California workers are entitled up to four months of disability leave related to pregnancy. Depending on the mother’s medical condition, this leave can be taken before or after the child has been born, in accordance with the CFRA leave. The CFRA covers employers with at least 20 employees. Read up on pregnancy rights in California to know what else you might be entitled to.

California Paid Sick Leave

Employers must provide paid leave to workers who have fallen ill or need to care for a sick family member. Employees who have worked at least 30 days within a year from the start of their employment date will be accorded at least an hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked. This law applies to all California employees, including those engaged on a part-time or temporary basis. Unpaid sick leave may be forfeited after a certain amount of time has passed, and is not required to be paid to employees when they leave.

Workers’ Compensation

California employers must provide their workers with compensation, regardless of the field they are working in or the number of employees at the workplace. If an employee is injured or becomes ill as a result of their work, the employer will be responsible for a range of benefits including disability and medical care. Employees are guaranteed prompt medical treatment.

Holidays and Vacation

While state law does not require employers to provide paid time off for holidays, employers may be required to accommodate religious holidays. If you believe that your employer is withdrawing your right to take a holiday or switch shifts based on your religious beliefs, you may have a claim for discrimination.

Employers are not required to provide vacation; however, if they do, any paid vacation days will be considered as part of an employee’s income. If an employee leaves a job without using their paid leave, the employer must reimburse those wages.

Final Wage Payment

When an employer terminates an employee, all wages must be paid upon termination. If an employee quits, all wages must be paid within a period of 72 hours afterwards. If the employee provides 72 hours prior to quitting, wages must be paid on their last day of employment.