Legal Question in Medical Leave in California

Re: Exhausted fmla

Subject to the warning that this is not legal advice:

If and when an employee is denied legally protected leave, or are illegally discriminated or retaliated against, they can consider legal claims.

If your CA employer has at least 50 employees, and you are employed for at least 12 months, have at least 1,250 hours worked in the 12 months prior to the leave, then you would be eligible for 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA/CFRA medical leave when you are unable to work [or must care for an immediate family member] because of a �serious health condition�, continuation of group health benefits, restoration to the same or an equivalent job upon return to work, with accrued benefits.

If you are out longer than those guarantees, they can fire you.

Upon termination from employment, you are entitled to COBRA conversion of your medical benefits [if any], allowing you to pay for and retain your insurance coverage.

Whether or not the employee asks for it or defines it as FMLA, the employer is obligated to treat it as such [as you seem to have done] it they recognize that the situation reasonably falls within FMLA guidelines. Your company HR needs to get update training, or have an attorney on call for such questions. Feel free to contact me if serious about discussing this employee's situation and rights.