Are employers allowed to require employees to take unpaid leave?

In California, the answer to the question of whether employers are allowed to require employees to take unpaid leave is yes, but with certain restrictions. Unpaid leave is subject to certain conditions and requirements to ensure that workers are treated fairly and not taken advantage of by their employers. For example, California employers are required to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to qualified workers for covered medical needs. The employee must have worked with the employer for at least 12 months, and must have worked at least 1,250 hours during the previous 12-month period in order to be eligible for this leave. In addition, employers are required to provide up to six weeks of unpaid leave for the birth or adoption of a child, and unpaid leave of up to 24 hours per year to attend to an illness that affects a close family member or to attend to certain school events for a child of the employee. Finally, California employers may also require employees to take unpaid leave if certain labor laws are violated. Such leave may include unpaid suspension for disciplinary reasons or unpaid leave to comply with a court order. All in all, while employers are generally allowed to require employees to take unpaid leave, they must comply with certain restrictions in order to ensure that employee rights are protected.

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