Answer:
Since Gabriella exhausted all of her available FMLA leave during her first pregnancy, she is no longer eligible for additional FMLA leave since it offers 12 weeks of leave in one calendar year.
Gabriella will now be eligible for another 17 1/3 weeks of PDL. However, she expects to require leave throughout the length of her pregnancy and wants to be able to use CFRA baby bonding once she has the baby. Do you know what leave she is eligible for next?
Since Gabriella has indicated that she needs extended leave throughout her pregnancy, HR should engage in the interactive process and conduct an undue hardship analysis to verify if additional leave throughout the pregnancy will cause an undue hardship for the organization. HR would then designation Gabriella under the new Pregnancy Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). This new regulation states that pregnant employees must be accommodated without losing their jobs unless there is an undue hardship involved. It’s important to note that while Gabriella is protected under PWFA as an accommodation, her medical benefits would not be protected during that time.
Once the baby is born, HR will then place Gabriella on CFRA baby bonding leave for the remaining time she did not use during her first pregnancy, and she will have her health benefits reinstated at this time.
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