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FAQs for Employers
Employers’ Frequently Asked Questions
- Eligibility
- Cost
- Relation of the Paid Family Leave Insurance Program to the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA)
- Benefits
- Voluntary Plans
- Claim Forms
Who is eligible for State Disability Insurance (SDI)?
See basic eligibility.
Who does Paid Family Leave cover?
Employees covered by State Disability Insurance (SDI) are also covered by Paid Family Leave insurance. If a Voluntary Plan Insurer provides your company's disability insurance coverage, in lieu of SDI, then it must also provide Paid Family Leave insurance coverage.
Does an employee have to work a minimum number of hours or days before becoming eligible for Paid Family Leave insurance benefits?
No. The Paid Family Leave law does not require a minimum number of hours worked or days employed to qualify for benefits.
May employees receive Disability or Paid Family Leave insurance benefits if they work part time?
If your employees work part time and still suffer a wage loss due to a family care need, they may receive benefits provided they are otherwise eligible. Disability and Paid Family Leave insurance is a wage loss protection program, which means that individuals may be eligible for a portion of the Disability and Paid Family Leave insurance benefit if they are suffering a loss of wages and meet the other eligibility requirements.
Does the seven (7) day waiting period for Disability and Paid Family Leave need to be seven consecutive days?
No. The required seven-day non-payable waiting period does not need to be taken seven days in a row. For example, if care were provided one day per week, the seven-day waiting period would be served over a seven-week period. Benefits are payable once the seven days have been served and all other eligibility criteria are met.
May I require my employees to take all of their Paid Family Leave insurance benefits at one time?
No. The law does not establish a minimum number of hours or days or weeks that an employee must take Paid Family Leave insurance benefits. It only established the maximum leave time of six (6) paid weeks within a 12-month period.
Are employees required by law to use their vacation leave when collecting Disability or Paid Family Leave insurance benefits?
No, not for Disability Insurance, the law gives an employer the discretion (option) to require an employee to take up to two weeks of earned but unused vacation leave, when the employee is requesting Paid Family Leave. Employers should bear in mind, however, that this option does not relieve them of any collective-bargaining duties they may have with respect to vacation leave.
If our employees accrue Paid Time Off (PTO), rather than specific vacation or sick leave, may I require employees to use up to two weeks of PTO prior to the initial receipt of Paid Family Leave insurance benefits?
Yes. The law provides the option for employers to require up to two weeks of earned but unused vacation leave prior to the receipt of Paid Family Leave.
May I require employees who have not accumulated two weeks of vacation leave to use their earned but unused sick leave instead?
No. The law does not authorize employers to require the use of sick leave in lieu of vacation.
What constitutes a serious health condition for the purposes of Paid Family Leave?
A serious health condition means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition of a patient that involves inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility. This includes any period of incapacity (e.g., inability to work, attend school, or perform other regular daily activities) or any subsequent treatment in connection with such inpatient care; or continuing treatment by a physician or practitioner Unless complications arise, cosmetic treatments, the common cold, influenza, earaches, upset stomach, minor ulcers, and headaches other than migraine, are examples of conditions that do not meet the definition of a serious health condition for purposes of Paid Family Leave.
Is a claimant eligible for Paid Family Leave insurance benefits if he/she has to provide care for a sick relative (child, parent, spouse or registered domestic partner) that is out-of-state or out-of-the-country?
A claim may be submitted for Paid Family Leave benefits to care for a sick parent who is out of the state or out of the country. Benefits may be payable provided the medical certificate is properly completed, establishes a need for care, and a claimant is otherwise eligible.
Can an employee opt out of the Paid Family Leave insurance program?
No. Paid Family Leave is a component of State Disability Insurance and contributions are mandatory under the California Unemployment Insurance Code.
Do I have to pay for Disability or Paid Family Leave insurance? If not, who does?
No, employers do not pay for State Disability Insurance. It is funded entirely by employee contributions.
Does Paid Family Leave insurance increase the maximum wage cap for SDI?
No. The maximum taxable wage in 2009 is $90,669. Wages in excess of this cap are exempt from SDI withholding.
Relation of the Paid Family Leave Insurance Program to the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA)
What is the difference between Paid Family Leave insurance and employee leave laws?
The FMLA and CFRA are federal and state leave laws, respectively, that allow workers to take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave from their jobs in a 12-month period to care for themselves or family members who are ill, or children who are unable to take care of themselves. Paid Family Leave insurance does not change either law in any way and is completely separate from them. It merely provides up to six (6) weeks of paid benefits to workers who suffer a wage loss when they take time off work to care for others.
See the Department of Labor for more information about FMLA. Contact the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing at 1-800-884-1684 for more information about CFRA.
As an employer, may I require employees to take leave under the federal FMLA and the CFRA at the same time they are receiving Paid Family Leave insurance benefits?
Yes, if your company is subject to the provisions of FMLA and CFRA. See California Department of Fair Employment and Housing for more information about CFRA.
Is an employee’s job protected when receiving Paid Family Leave benefits?
No. This program does not protect anyone's job. It simply provides partial wage replacement when an employee cannot work due to the need to care for a child, parent, spouse, or registered domestic partner, or to bond with a new minor child. Some employees may have their job protected under other laws, such as the FMLA or the CFRA.
How soon will my employee receive his/her first check from State Disability or Paid Family Leave after he/she mails their claim form?
Most claimants are sent State Disability or Paid Family Leave checks within two weeks after a properly completed claim is received.
How will you determine the weekly benefit amount?
We calculate the weekly benefit amount based on the calendar quarter with the highest earnings in the claimants base period. The base period covers 12 months and is divided into four consecutive quarters of three months each. The wages the claimant was paid approximately 5 to 17 months before the claim begins are included in the base period (they must be subject to the SDI tax). The base period does not include wages paid at the time the claim begins. See weekly benefit amounts
May an employee receive other benefits while also receiving Paid Family Leave insurance?
An employee may not receive Paid Family Leave insurance benefits if he or she is receiving or will receive State Disability Insurance, Unemployment Compensation Insurance, or Workers' Compensation benefits for the same period. Other benefits, such as employer paid benefits for baby bonding, may also affect payment of Paid Family Leave benefits.
How is the SDI benefit affected when an employee receives sick leave benefits at the same time?
The SDI program treats sick leave wages as wages earned. SDI benefits will be reduced by the amount of sick leave wages received, and may render the employee ineligible for benefits depending on the amount of sick leave wages received and the employee's weekly benefit amount.
If you integrate (coordinate) the sick leave (pay the employee sick leave wages in an amount which is the difference between the SDI benefit and the employee's full wage), the sick leave benefits received by the employee will not affect the SDI benefit.
My company's policy is to coordinate (integrate) unused sick leave with SDI. May we do this with Paid Family Leave insurance too?
Yes.
Is SDI taxable? Disability Insurance (DI) vs. Paid Family Leave (PFL)?
Disability Insurance (DI) benefits are not taxable except when considered to be a substitute for unemployment compensation when paid to an individual who is ineligible for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits solely because of the disability. Only in this instance, where DI benefits are received in lieu of UI benefits, will the EDD provide the claimant with a 1099G form showing amounts paid which are reportable (no more than the original UI maximum) and forward a copy of the 1099G to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Paid Family Leave (PFL) benefits are taxable for federal purposes but not state tax purposes. The EDD will provide all claimants with a 1099G form and forward a copy of the 1099G to the federal IRS. The PFL benefits are not taxable or reportable to the California State Franchise Tax Board.
As a voluntary plan employer, am I required to approve a request for family care leave?
Paid Family Leave benefits are not a leave program. The voluntary plan paid family leave insurance benefit program is separate from leave policies.