HELLO,
I JUST HAD A BABY ON 7/30/07 AND WAS ON LEAVE. I CAME BACk TO WORK 14 DAYS EARLY FROM LEave because my employer said that they needed me. I told my boss that I have some days that I will need off for doctors visits that were previously sceheduled. I have been back to work for 3 months now AND I HAVE BEEN EMPLOYED BY THIS COMPANY FOR 7 YEARS. my boss said that I have missed 11 days since I have been back and that is unexceptable. These days off are vacation days and paid family medical leave days accumulated. My employer said that I can no longer take any time off for being sick, children being sick, doctors appointments, or anything else because I need to be at work my scheduled time. It is costing the company too much money to acomindate me for my time off. My employer said that if my children are sick I need to have someone else take time off to take care of them and if I am sick I need to take care of the situation so that I can come to work at my scheduled time . My employer says that I am taking advantage of the company by taking so many days off AND I AM UNRELIABLE, so from here on out I need to be at work. I told her that I can not promise that because things happen that are out of my control. I still have about 8-5 days left of paid family medicAL LEAVE BUT MY EMPLOYER DOES NOT WANT ME TO USE THEM AT ALL. IS THIS LEGAL FOR HER TO DO THIS OR TALK TO ME IN THIS MANNER?

If you or your children are ill for a few days with routine illnesses such as a cold, the flu, etc., that does not fall under the FMLA and you are not "entitled" to take the time off. Not taking all the FMLA time you were eligible for when you had the baby does not mean those can be saved to use for absences that don't qualify for leave under the FMLA.

I am going to assume that you qualify for CFRA and that you were taking that leave when asked to come back to work. This is illegal. Your employer cannot interfere with your leave by asking you to come back early.

Second, if you have CFRA time left and need to use it for the "serious health condition" of your children, by taking time off for medical appointments, your employer cannot deny you this time off. Of course, it must be a "serious health condition" and your employer can require a certification from your children's health care provider.

Start documenting everything now...try to get as much of your communication with your employer in writing.

Actually, the OP never mentions what type of leave she took. We cannot assume that her employer employs enough people to be eligible for CFRA. In fact, if the employer is contending that her absence is causing that much of a hardship, it is possible that her employer is well below the CFRA & FMLA thresholds. Since California's Pregnancy Leave covers employers with 5+ employees, it is likely that this is the leave she took, not CFRA.

In addition, the OP mentions "Paid Family Medical Leave". This is an unprotected leave in California. If the employer has an issue with the absences, the employer is under no legal obligation to retain the employee. As a result, it is in fact legal for the employer to inform you that they will not retain you if you choose to take that leave time.

It may seem unfair, but without further details that state your employer employs 50+ people in a 75 mile radius, it is likely legal for them to require you to limit your absences.