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Definitions 

Serious Health Condition. An employee may use FMLA/CFRA leave for his/her own serious health condition. He/she may also use family and medical leave to care for a child, parent or spouse who has a serious health condition. An employee may use CFRA-only leave to care for a registered domestic partner who has a serious health condition. A “serious health condition” means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves one of the following:

• Hospital Care. Inpatient care (i.e., an overnight stay) in a hospital, hospice or residential medical care facility, including any period of incapacity or subsequent treatment in connection with or consequent to inpatient care.
  
• Absence Plus Treatment. A period of incapacity of more than three consecutive calendar days (including any subsequent treatment or period of incapacity relating to the same condition), that also involves:
  

1. Treatment two or more times by a health care provider (for FMLA only, the two treatments must occur within 30 days*), by a nurse or physician’s assistant under direct supervision of a health care provider or by a provider of health care services (e.g., physical therapist) under orders of, or on referral by, a health care provider.
   
2. Treatment by a health care provider on at least one occasion which results in a regimen of continuing treatment under the supervision of the health care provider

*For FMLA only, the employee’s first treatment must occur within seven days of the first day of incapacity. California law does not include the noted time limitations. If a leave is FMLA/CFRA, follow the California law without the time limitations.

• Pregnancy. A period of incapacity due to pregnancy, or for prenatal care. Note: An employee’s own incapacity due to pregnancy is covered as a serious health condition under FMLA but not under CFRA.
  
• Chronic Conditions Requiring Treatment. A chronic condition that:
  

1. Requires periodic visits (for FMLA only, “periodic” means at least two times per year) for treatment by a health care provider, or by a nurse or physician’s assistant under direct supervision of a health care provider.
   
2. Continues over an extended period of time (including recurring episodes of a single underlying condition).
   
3. May cause episodic rather than a continuing period of incapacity (e.g., asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, etc.).
   

• Permanent or Long-Term Conditions Requiring Supervision. A period of incapacity that is permanent or long-term due to a condition for which treatment may not be effective. The employee or family member must be under the continuing supervision of, but need not be receiving active treatment by, a health care provider. Examples include Alzheimer’s, a severe stroke or the terminal stages of a disease.
  
• Multiple Treatments (Non-Chronic Conditions). Any period of absence to receive multiple treatments (including any period of recovery) by a health care provider or by a provider of health care services under orders of, or on referral by, a health care provider, either for restorative surgery after an accident or other injury, or for a condition that would likely result in a period of incapacity of more than three consecutive calendar days in the absence of medical intervention treatment, such as cancer (chemotherapy, radiation, etc.) severe arthritis (physical therapy), kidney disease (dialysis).
  

Serious Illness or Injury Defined for Military Caregiver Leave. An employee who is the spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin of a covered service member (including certain veterans) can take military caregiver leave for the “serious injury or illness” of the covered service member. Regulations effective March 8, 2013, expanded the definition of serious injury or illness for current service members and added protection for serious injuries or illnesses of certain veterans. The FMLA definitions of “serious injury or illness” for current service members and for veterans are different from the FMLA definition of “serious health condition.” 

Current Service Members. A serious injury or illness for a current service member is:

• An injury or illness that was incurred in the line of duty on active duty that may render the service member medically unfit to perform the duties of his or her office, grade, rank or rating; or
  
• An injury or illness that existed before the service member’s active duty and that was aggravated by service in the line of duty on active duty in the Armed Forces.
  

Covered Veterans. A serious injury or illness for a covered veteran is:

• An injury or illness that was incurred in the line of duty on active duty in the Armed Forces; or
  
• An injury or illness that existed before the beginning of the member’s active duty and was aggravated by service in the line of duty on active duty in the Armed Forces.
  

To qualify, the injury or illness must also meet one of the following four definitions:

1. A continuation of a serious injury or illness that was incurred or aggravated when the veteran was a member of the Armed Forces and rendered the service member unable to perform the duties of the service member’s office, grade, rank or rating; or
   
2. A physical or mental condition for which the veteran has received a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Service-Related Disability Rating (VASRD) of 50 percent or greater, and the need for military caregiver leave is related to that condition; or
   
3. A physical or mental condition that substantially impairs the veteran’s ability to work because of a disability or disabilities related to military service, or would do so absent treatment; or
   
4. An injury that is the basis for the veteran’s enrollment in the Department of Veterans Affairs Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers.

Treatment and Serious Health Conditions. The federal FMLA regulations specify that treatment does not include:

• Routine physical examinations
  
• Eye examinations
  
• Dental examinations
  

For purposes of the FMLA, the following do not establish a regimen of continuing treatment:

• Taking over-the-counter medications, such as aspirin and antihistamines, or using salves
  
• Bed rest
  
• Drinking fluids
  
• Exercise
  
• Other similar activities that can be initiated without a visit to a health care provider
  

The FMLA regulations specify that “serious health conditions” do not include the following for purposes of FMLA, unless hospital care or complications develop:

• Cosmetic surgery
  
• The common cold
  
• The flu
  
• Earaches
  
• Upset stomac​h
  
• Minor ulcers
  
• Headaches (other than migraines)
  
• Routine dental or orthodontia problems
  
• Periodontal disease