On October 12, 2017, Governor Brown approved a new law that will expand parental leave benefits to employers with 20 or more employees. The new law will take effect on January 1, 2018.

Currently, employers with 50 or more employees are required to grant up to 12-weeks of unpaid leave to eligible employees who request leave to bond with a newborn child or with a child placed in the employee’s home for foster care or adoption. To be eligible for leave, the employee must have worked for the employer for at least 12 months (which do not need to be consecutive), worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12-month period preceding the use of leave, and work at a worksite with 50 or more employees in a 75-mile radius.

Under the new law, employers with 20 or more employees will be required to grant up to 12-weeks of unpaid leave to eligible employees for bonding purposes. An eligible employee is one who has worked for the employer for at least 12 months, worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12-month period preceding the use of leave, and who works at a worksite with 20 or more employees in a 75-mile radius.  More information about this leave expansion can be found here.

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Photo of Cepideh Roufougar Cepideh Roufougar

Cepideh Roufougar is a Principal in the San Francisco, California, office of Jackson Lewis P.C.

Ms. Roufougar is Co-Leader of the California Advice and Counsel Resource Group. She advises and counsels management in all areas of labor and employment law, with a focus…

Cepideh Roufougar is a Principal in the San Francisco, California, office of Jackson Lewis P.C.

Ms. Roufougar is Co-Leader of the California Advice and Counsel Resource Group. She advises and counsels management in all areas of labor and employment law, with a focus on identifying practical solutions to help ensure compliance with state and federal law. Ms. Roufougar positions herself as a strategic partner when providing advice and counsel about litigation avoidance, employee management issues, implementing disciplinary actions, and collective bargaining issues. Her ability to see the big picture clearly and understand her client’s businesses in emotionally charged and highly complex disputes has helped her clients financially and prevented litigation. Her clients rely on her to guide them through both short-term and long-term planning to achieve their unique goals and strategies.

Ms. Roufougar is an experienced trainer and presents seminars on a wide range of subjects, including: leave management and reasonable accommodations; preventing discrimination, harassment and retaliation; implementing and sustaining disciplinary actions; conducting defensible workplace investigations; first-line supervisor trainings; performance management/evaluations; and wage and hour issues.

Ms. Roufougar has been successful in helping her clients prevail in numerous arbitrations and administrative appeals. She has extensive experience representing employers in labor and employment disputes. She has defended employers in employment litigation matters, including claims alleging violations of the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act, FLSA collective actions, and claims of harassment and discrimination. Ms. Roufougar also conducts complex workplace investigations.

Before joining Jackson Lewis, Ms. Roufougar practiced at a well-regarded local labor and employment firm and served as in-house counsel for a local public agency.