Legal Question in Employment Law in California

While I cannot offer you specific advice, generally, employees who are eligible for FMLA or CFRA leave merely need a medical certification that they are unable to work due to a medical condition to be able to take up to 12 weeks off of unpaid leave. You can, however, exhaust any accrued vacation and unused sick pay while out. To be eligible, you have to have worked for an employer of at least 50 employees within 75 miles of where you work, on a full-time basis, for at least one year.

Beyond that, you may be able to make a workers compensation claim, if a doctor can diagnose a work related medical condition that requires you to take time off. But you should consult with a workers compensation attorney (I am not), to determine if this is feasible. You can submit such a claim with your employer's insurer.

If you are suffering from a qualified disability, you can request the employer to reasonably accommodate your disability by allowing to take a leave of absence. But this is not automatically required of the employer, so that would be a more tenuous solution.

To obtain more specific legal advice for your problem, you will need to consult with an employment law attorney to assess your legal options, after discussing all of the relevant facts.

If your stress is work-related, you need to be examined by a doctor and if the doctor determine that you are unable to work then take you off work and apply for worker's compensation benefits for you. Feel free to call us at 213.388.7070 for a free consultation.