California Paid Family Leave: 8 Weeks, and What It Does Not Cover

California Paid Family Leave replaces part of your wages while you are away from work caring for someone. The most important thing to understand about it is what it is not: it is a wage-replacement benefit, not a right to your job back.

How long, and how much

Eligible workers can receive payments for up to 8 weeks within a 12-month period, according to the Employment Development Department. The weekly benefit runs from a minimum of $50 to a maximum of $1,765 per week, scaled to your earnings. The EDD publishes a calculator for estimating your own figure.

What it can be used for

• Bonding with a new child — birth parents, and adoptive or foster parents
• Caring for a seriously ill family member
• Supporting a military family member deploying abroad

It does not protect your job

This is the part that surprises people. PFL does not provide job protection. Job protection, where it exists, comes from other laws — the federal Family and Medical Leave Act or the California Family Rights Act — and those have their own eligibility tests based on employer size and your length of service.

So two separate questions need separate answers before you take leave: will I be paid (PFL) and must my employer hold my job (FMLA/CFRA). Qualifying for one does not mean qualifying for the other.

How it is funded

PFL is funded through State Disability Insurance contributions — the CASDI line on your paystub. You have already paid for it; it is not an employer benefit granted at their discretion.

Who is eligible

You must show wage loss, have earned at least $300 and paid into SDI during the previous 18 months, be employed or actively seeking work when the leave begins, and submit the required documentation.

PFL, SDI and sick leave are three different things

State Disability Insurance covers your own illness or injury; Paid Family Leave covers time spent caring for someone else or bonding with a new child. Employer-paid sick leave is a separate entitlement again — see our guide to California paid sick leave. People commonly use sick leave first and then move onto one of the EDD programmes.

Benefit amounts are adjusted periodically. Check the EDD for the figures in effect on your claim date.