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In general, the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) are available to parents to care for their children with serious health conditions. The CFRA broadly defines "child" without drawing a distinction based on them being minor or adult children. The FMLA, however, is more limited, only covering adult children (age 18 or older) when they are “incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.”
For FMLA purposes, this means that the parent qualifies to take leave if the adult child is unable to care for their own basic medical, hygienic or nutritional needs or safety, or is unable to transport themselves to the doctor. These are considered major daily activities and instrumental activities.
Major daily activities include grooming and hygiene, bathing, dressing and eating.
“Instrumental activities,” however, include, but are not limited to cooking, cleaning, shopping, taking public transportation, paying bills, maintaining a residence, etc. Typically, FMLA protection is not available when the individual who is the addict is actively using the drugs; however, it is if the addict wishes to stop using drugs outside of a rehabilitation program.
The rigors of trying to stop using drugs can cause a serious health condition. On that note, an employer may still require an employee to submit written certification from a health care provider to substantiate that their leave is due to a serious health condition of the employee or the employee’s immediate family member.
If an employer is inclined to deny the use of CFRA or FMLA in a situation like this, it is recommended to seek the advice of legal counsel to guide the employer through the process.
Read more about CFRA and FMLA Qualifying Reasons in the HR Library.