Why people use this
It costs nothing to find out where you stand, nothing goes to your employer, and what you send goes to a real employment lawyer licensed in California — not a database, not a lead list. You do not need to know whether what happened was against the law; that is what the lawyer works out once they have read your file.
What this is about
Several different leave schemes can apply at once, with different rules. What often matters is what happened when the leave ended.
Things people describe
- Leave was refused or discouraged.
- Your role changed while you were away.
- Returning was made difficult.
If any of this sounds like your situation, that does not tell you whether anything went wrong — it tells you it may be worth having someone look.
What helps
- Requests and approvals.
- Payslips covering the leave.
- Anything about your role before and after.
We ask for documents because they show what happened better than memory does. If you do not have something, say so; a gap is a normal part of a case and not a reason to stop.
In California
California has its own family and medical leave provisions alongside the federal ones, and they do not always align.
Claims about work usually have time limits, and they can be shorter than people expect. We cannot tell you what your own time limit is — that depends on your situation. If this matters to you, it is worth finding out sooner rather than later.
What happens if you start
A leave period has a start and an end, and both dates matter — so we ask for both rather than for 'when I was off'.
About us
Worker Rights Line is not a law firm and cannot give you legal advice. We help you put your situation and your documents together, and pass them to an employment law firm in California who decides whether they can act for you.
Reviewed by Jelmer de Boer on 2026-08-19.
Based on: CFRA; Government Code § 12945.2. Check at review.