{"id":357721,"date":"2016-04-04T10:45:26","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T15:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/employment\/family-medical-leave\/california-paid-family-leave-law.html"},"modified":"2025-08-17T18:59:20","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T23:59:20","slug":"california-paid-family-leave-law","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/employment\/family-medical-leave\/california-paid-family-leave-law.html","title":{"rendered":"California Paid Family Leave Law"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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California Paid Family Leave Law<\/h1>\n\n
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\n By Susan Buckner, J.D.<\/a> | Legally reviewed by Catherine Hodder, Esq.<\/a>\n | Last updated\n
\n \n <\/i>\n Legally Reviewed\n <\/summary>\n\n
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This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n\n

\n \n <\/i>\n Fact-Checked\n <\/summary>\n\n
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The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n

California provides employees with a wide range of family and medical leave laws. Even where employers do not offer workers paid vacations or sick time, California law requires them to give employees at least some paid leave to care for themselves and family members.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

California’s Paid Family Leave<\/a>\u00a0(PFL) law\u00a0is partial wage replacement for eligible workers. PFL lets workers take otherwise unpaid time away from work to care for sick family members or to bond with a new infant.<\/p>\n

Other California employment rights laws, such as the Paid Sick Leave Act and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) provide job protection and other weekly benefits. These benefits overlap with federal employment laws like the\u00a0Family and Medical Leave Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Your Job and Paid Family Leave<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The federal FMLA guarantees eligible workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave and provides limited job security. However, employees who lack other wage benefits may not be able to take that much time away from work, even if their employer must provide it.<\/p>\n

California’s PFL program goes through the\u00a0state disability insurance<\/a>(SDI). Only employees who pay into the state SDI system during the \u201cbase period” are eligible for PFL. Employers determine the base period from your hours and starting employment date.<\/p>\n

PFL Eligibility and Benefits<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Any employee covered by state disability insurance qualifies for PFL benefits. SDI payments are deducted from your paycheck once you meet the eligibility requirements. PFL benefit payments give workers 55% of their base wages, with a minimum of $50 per week, and a maximum of $1,173 per week. Workers may receive benefits for up to eight weeks in any 12-month period.<\/p>\n

Qualifying Reasons for Leave<\/strong><\/h3>\n

California workers can use their PFL while they are on other unpaid leave, such as FMLA. For instance, a worker could use eight weeks of PFL for a partial paycheck while taking eight weeks’ unpaid leave to care for a sick child.<\/p>\n

Employees can use PFL for:<\/p>\n