CA has a state leave law that provides time off for pregnancy disability called the Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) law.  CA also has a job protected leave law called the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) for medical leave, family care leave, military exigency, parental leave, and bereavement leave. 

Additionally, California has a state pay law called the State Disability Insurance (SDI), which provides income replacement benefits when an employee requires leave for their own medical condition.  California also has Paid Family Leave (PFL) benefits for family care, military exigency, and parental leave reasons. These pay programs are in most cases administered by the Employment Development Department (EDD), though employers may self-insure the benefits by establishing a CA Voluntary Plan. SDI and PFL does not provide job protection.

When an employee is eligible for both CFRA and PDL, these two laws generally run concurrently with the federal FMLA. However, PDL does not run concurrently with CFRA since it is a separate allowance of time for CA mothers who are disabled due to pregnancy.

Furthermore, when an employee is eligible for both SDI and PDL, these two laws will generally run concurrently with one another. SDI will also run concurrently with CFRA/FMLA (when CFRA is used for an employee’s own serious health condition). When CFRA/FMLA is used for family leave reasons, these laws will run concurrently with PFL.

As part of our leave of absence service, The Larkin Company will track California leaves under PDL and CFRA and advise employees on how to file for their California pay benefits with the EDD.  For our clients who have a self-insured CA Voluntary Plan in place with The Larkin Company, we will handle your California employee disability and paid family leave claims directly, with no requirement for employees to file with the Employment Development Department.

Larkin CA Voluntary Plans – If you are curious about our self-insured CA Voluntary Plan benefits service, please see here or contact your Client Success Manager. If you are interested in our services in general, see here.

The SF Paid Parental Leave Ordinance (SF-PPLO) is a pay-only law for eligible city employees that requires employers to provide salary continuation, while the employee is receiving PFL benefits for their parental leave. Employers are required to “top up” an employee’s parental PFL benefit to the employee’s full weekly pay, or if the employee is a higher wage earner, then at least up to the maximum SF PPLO amount (the maximum amount is determined by the city each year).

SF also has the Military Leave Pay Protection Act (MLPPA), an ordinance that requires qualified employers provide supplemental pay to employees on military duty, who work within the geographic boundaries of San Francisco. Please see our “Leave Highlights” for further details.

Where an employee is eligible for each law (CFRA, PFL, SF-PPLO and federal FMLA), these laws will generally all run concurrently for parental leave reasons. However, PDL will not run concurrently with SF-PPLO since PDL refers to only the pregnancy disability portion of a leave. Furthermore, when an employee is eligible for SF-MLPPA and federal USERRA, these laws will generally run concurrently with one another.

If you have questions about SF-PPLO or SF-MLPPA relevant to your organization and how The Larkin Company can help ensure your policies and procedures are compliant with SF-PPLO and/or SF-MLPPA, please contact your Larkin Client Success Manager.

This resource section provides information on how the benefits are made available to employees, for example, are the state pay benefits provided directly by the state or are employers required to provide the benefit via an insurance carrier, and/or may employers self-insure the benefit. Additionally, how are benefits funded, via contributions made by the employee or employer, or both, as well as providing information on state wage reporting requirements if applicable. Many states paid family leave programs require that employers submit employee wage reports for employees within the state. These reports are primarily used to assess an employee’s eligibility when they file for benefits. 

The resource below also provides a summary of employer actions, including how to register with the state to remit contributions and submit wage reports if applicable, and by when contributions/wage reporting is due.

Some leave laws require that you notify your employees about their rights under the law, such as, by providing a prescribed notice to new hires, displaying a poster in the workplace, and/or including information about that leave law in your company handbook. Below you will find a summary of the requirements for each law.

Where the law requires that a leave poster/notice must be provided to the employee when they request leave, The Larkin Company will provide the applicable document within our introductory leave packets (see “Larkin Enclosures” within the resource).

Employers may be required to complete employer forms for certain state income replacement programs, so they must be prepared to look up employee information and respond within the given timelines. While the questions vary state by state, they are typically focused around four areas: leave dates, employment status, last day worked, and questions around pay. To answer these questions, employers typically look in multiple systems to complete the forms:

• Leave dates – clients can use our employer portal or email notifications to confirm dates;
• Demographics/employment status – this information is typically housed in our client’s HRIS;
• Last day worked – this information is typically housed in our client’s time & attendance system;
• Gross wages/last day paid – this information is typically housed in our client’s payroll system.

State Forms– Process

Since this process is complex, we thought it might be helpful for employers to know 1) when to expect the forms based on employees’ work state and 2) when proactive employee collaboration is required. The below information is for California.

Also included, is information regarding: if you are required to register with the state’s website for the Employer Statements Process, how to register (if applicable), and how employers can check and employee’s claims status (if allowed by the state).

State Website(s)

CFRA and PDL (Leave Laws) – Civil Rights Department (CRD)
SDI and PFL (Pay Laws)  – Employment Development Department (EDD)

State Law and Regulation(s)

CFRA Regulations
PDL Regulations
SDI and PFL Law
SDI and PFL Regulations

Contribution Registration (Paid Leave)

SDI and PFL (+ other state taxes)
State Tax/Wage Reporting Guide
For general information regarding paid leave contributions/wage reporting for this state, please see here.

Employer Statement (Claim Process) Registration

SDI only (PFL Statements Mailed)
For general information regarding the paid leave employer statement process for this state, please see here.