How Do You Get Stress Leave in California?

How Does Stress Leave Work in California?

California law does not have one single "stress leave." You get time off, and sometimes pay, through one of a few different systems, depending on what caused the stress and what you need.

Work can cause real stress. A heavy workload, a hostile supervisor, a violent incident, or a long, grinding schedule can all wear a person down. California gives you more than one way to step back, but each path has its own rules.

If your stress rises to the level of a diagnosed psychiatric injury and your job was the main cause, workers' compensation can pay for treatment and replace part of your lost wages. If you need time away for your own serious health condition, the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) can protect your job while you are out, if you meet their eligibility rules, though neither one pays you. If the stress is not work related, State Disability Insurance (SDI) through the Employment Development Department (EDD) can replace part of your income while you recover, if you qualify.

The right path depends on what caused the stress, how large your employer is, and how long you expect to be out. The rest of this page walks through each option.

Is Work Stress Covered by Workers' Comp in California?

Yes, if a doctor diagnoses a psychiatric injury and actual events at your job were its predominant cause, with a lower bar after a violent act at work. An ordinary bad day at work usually does not qualify on its own.

Labor Code section 3208.3 sets special rules for psychiatric injury claims that a broken arm or a bad back does not have to meet. The condition must be a mental disorder, diagnosed under accepted psychiatric manuals, that causes disability or a need for treatment. You must also show that actual events at your job were the predominant cause, which the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) reads as more than half of all causes combined.

Violence at work is judged under a lower bar. If you were the victim of a violent act, or were directly exposed to a significant violent act, you only need to show that actual events at your job were a "substantial cause," which the statute defines as at least 35 to 40 percent of the causation from all sources combined. Our retail robbery psychiatric injury case study walks through one version of that situation.

Two more rules apply to most stress claims, such as pressure from workload, conflict with a supervisor, or a difficult environment. You generally need six months with the employer, covered next. And no benefits are paid if a lawful, nondiscriminatory, good faith personnel action, such as a layoff or discipline, substantially caused the injury. Our psychiatric injury workers' comp guide and mental stress claims guide cover how these claims are built and proven in more detail.

What Is the Six Month Rule for Psychiatric Injury Claims?

In most cases, you need at least six months on the job with the same employer before a psychiatric injury claim can be paid. The six months do not have to be continuous.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, no compensation shall be paid pursuant to this division for a psychiatric injury related to a claim against an employer unless the employee has been employed by that employer for at least six months. The six months of employment need not be continuous.

This rule does not apply if the injury was caused by a "sudden and extraordinary employment condition." The statute does not define that phrase, so whether an event qualifies depends on its facts. The same subdivision also says the six month rule does not create a right to sue your employer that the exclusive remedy rule, covered later on this page, would otherwise bar.

A second timing rule applies when you file the claim after your employer gives notice of a termination or layoff, for an injury that happened before the notice. Then no benefits are paid unless your job was the predominant cause and at least one listed condition applies. Examples include sudden and extraordinary events at work that caused the injury, notice to your employer of the psychiatric injury before the termination or layoff notice, or medical records from before that notice that show treatment for it. A notice that is not followed by the actual termination or layoff within 60 days does not trigger this rule. Our Labor Code 3208.3 six month rule guide covers these rules in more detail.

How Long Does California Stress Leave Last?

It depends on the program. Workers' comp temporary disability can pay for up to 104 weeks within five years of the injury, CFRA and FMLA protect your job for up to 12 workweeks in a 12 month period, and SDI can pay for up to 52 weeks.

These numbers measure different things, and they do not simply add together. CFRA and FMLA protect your job but do not pay you. Workers' comp and SDI replace part of your income but are not leave laws. The protected weeks and the paid weeks can run at the same time. Your employer may require you to take CFRA and FMLA leave while you receive SDI, and federal rules let it count time off for a work injury as FMLA leave when the injury is a serious health condition.

If your psychiatric injury claim is accepted, temporary disability follows the same 104 week cap under Labor Code section 4656 that applies to most other work injuries. Our guide to applying for temporary disability benefits explains how those payments start and continue. CFRA's own rules are in Government Code section 12945.2, which runs CFRA leave at the same time as FMLA leave when both apply.

Do You Get Paid on Stress Leave?

Only some of these programs pay you directly. CFRA and FMLA do not pay wages by themselves. Workers' comp and SDI do, using two different formulas.

CFRA and FMLA protect your job, not your paycheck. The Civil Rights Department says you will be paid during this leave if your employer pays for it, if you use accrued paid time off such as vacation, or if you apply for SDI and qualify. If a job injury caused the condition, workers' comp can pay too.

If your psychiatric injury claim is accepted, workers' comp temporary disability generally pays two thirds of your average weekly earnings, up to a state maximum that is adjusted each January. If your condition is not work related, or workers' comp benefits are delayed or denied, SDI may pay about 70 to 90 percent of the wages you earned 5 to 18 months before your claim, depending on your income, up to its own weekly maximum. Our guide to workers' comp versus disability insurance compares these two systems in more detail, including what happens while a claim is still pending.

Should You Use SDI or Workers' Comp for Stress Leave?

If your job was the predominant cause of a diagnosed psychiatric injury, workers' comp is the system meant to pay. If the cause is not work related, or workers' comp benefits are delayed or denied, SDI may pay instead.

The EDD says it is not common to receive workers' comp and SDI at the same time. You may still get full or partial SDI if workers' comp benefits are delayed or denied, or if your weekly workers' comp check is smaller than your SDI amount, in which case SDI may pay the difference. If you are not sure which applies, the EDD says to file a disability claim and let it decide. If you believe your job caused the condition, also tell your employer in writing. Labor Code section 5400 sets a 30 day notice rule, with exceptions.

Our dedicated guide to SDI after a work injury walks through how that overlap works, including what happens to SDI you already received if your workers' comp case later settles.

Can You Sue Your Employer for Stress and Anxiety in California?

For ordinary work stress, usually not. Workers' compensation is generally your only remedy against your employer for a psychiatric injury caused by the job, but stress from illegal harassment or discrimination falls under separate civil rights laws.

(a) Where the conditions of compensation set forth in Section 3600 concur, the right to recover compensation is, except as specifically provided in this section and Sections 3706 and 4558, the sole and exclusive remedy of the employee or his or her dependents against the employer.

Labor Code section 3602 is California's exclusive remedy rule. It trades away your right to sue your employer in court for a no fault system that pays regardless of who was at fault. The exceptions written into the statute are narrow, such as an injury caused by the employer's willful physical assault, or an injury made worse because the employer fraudulently hid it and its connection to the job. Ordinary work stress does not fit them.

Harassment or discrimination based on a protected category, such as race, sex, or a mental or physical disability, is a separate area of employment law. The state Civil Rights Department enforces those laws, and the remedies it lists include damages for emotional distress. Because Yazdchi Law's practice is workers' compensation, a worker in that situation can contact the department or an employment lawyer.

A stress related claim often comes down to timing, documentation, and picking the right program for your situation. Eman Yazdchi can review your diagnosis, your employment dates, any layoff or termination notice, and any denial letter, and tell you plainly where you stand under California workers' compensation law. The firm handles workers' compensation only, including Labor Code section 132a claims, and does not take CFRA, FMLA, harassment or discrimination cases. It reviews each matter's own facts before deciding whether to take a case.

Call (661) 273-1780 or use the contact form to set up a free consultation. Yazdchi Law P.C. serves injured workers across California from its office at 1125 W Avenue M-14, Suite A, Palmdale, CA 93551.