California Leave of Absence Laws and Employee Rights

California’s leave of absence laws give most employees two separate things that have to be arranged separately: a job to come back to, and some income while you’re out. Job protection comes from statutes like the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL), paid sick leave, and bereavement leave. Wage replacement comes from state programs you’ve already paid into through payroll deductions: State Disability Insurance (SDI) and Paid Family Leave (PFL). Running out of one doesn’t end the other, and qualifying for one doesn’t automatically qualify you for the other. That split is where most of the confusion lives.

CFRA and FMLA: The Main Job-Protection Leave

The California Family Rights Act and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act each give eligible workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period. When both apply, you get whichever is more protective.¹ For most Californians, CFRA controls because it covers more employers and more family relationships.

You qualify under either law if you’ve worked at least 12 months for your employer and clocked at least 1,250 hours in the year before leave starts.² The employer-size cutoff is where the laws split: CFRA applies to any employer with five or more workers, while FMLA requires 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius.¹ If your employer has between 5 and 49 workers, CFRA is your only option.

What CFRA Leave Covers

You can use CFRA leave for your own serious health condition, to care for a family member with a serious health condition, or to bond with a new child by birth, adoption, or foster placement.² The family-member list is wide: children of any age, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, spouses, domestic partners, and a “designated person” you name (someone related by blood or who functions like family). Employers can limit you to one designated person per 12-month period.³

Your Health Insurance and Your Job

While you’re on CFRA or FMLA leave, your employer has to keep paying its share of your group health premiums and maintain your coverage at the same level as if you were still working.⁴ You still owe your own share, usually through direct payment, prepayment, or catch-up after you return. When the leave ends, your employer must reinstate you to the same position or a comparable one with equivalent pay, benefits, and working conditions.² If the position was eliminated in a legitimate layoff while you were out, the employer still has to show the elimination would have happened regardless of your leave.

Pregnancy Disability Leave

Pregnancy Disability Leave is a separate statute (Government Code section 12945) covering workers who are physically unable to do their job because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a related condition. Any employer with five or more employees must provide it, and there is no minimum service time or hours requirement. You’re eligible on day one.⁵

The maximum is four months per pregnancy, about 17.3 weeks for a full-time worker, based on your healthcare provider’s assessment of your disability.⁶ “Disabled by pregnancy” is a broad category that includes severe morning sickness, prenatal and postnatal care, doctor-ordered bed rest, gestational diabetes, and recovery from childbirth.

PDL runs independently from CFRA, which is why new parents often get much more time than people expect. A worker can take up to four months of PDL while medically disabled, then take 12 additional weeks of CFRA leave to bond with the new baby. When the pregnancy disability period ends, your employer must return you to the same position you held before.

Paid Sick Leave

Separate from everything above, California requires employers to provide paid sick leave to nearly every worker in the state. You accrue one hour for every 30 hours worked, and employers must let you use at least 40 hours (five days) per year.⁷ You need to have worked for the same employer for at least 30 days within a year in California and completed a 90-day employment period before using it.

Paid sick leave covers your own health needs, preventive care, and caring for a family member, using the same expanded family-member definition as CFRA. There’s no separate application or medical certification for short absences. You just notify your employer. For most minor illnesses and routine appointments, this is the leave you’ll actually use.

Bereavement and Reproductive Loss Leave

Since January 2023, employers with five or more workers must grant up to five days of bereavement leave after the death of a family member. You need 30 days of employment to qualify. The days don’t have to be consecutive, but must be taken within three months of the death. Each qualifying death triggers its own five-day entitlement.⁸ Bereavement leave is unpaid unless your employer has a policy providing pay, or you use accrued paid time off.

California also provides up to five days of protected leave following a reproductive loss event: miscarriage, stillbirth, failed adoption, failed surrogacy, or unsuccessful assisted reproduction. If you have more than one event, you can take up to 20 days total in a 12-month period. The same employer-size and employment-duration rules as bereavement leave apply.

Crime Victim Leave and Other Protected Time Off

Workers who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other qualifying crimes can take time off to seek medical attention, obtain a restraining order, attend court, participate in safety planning, or access victim services.⁹ At employers with 25 or more workers, additional time is allowed for counseling and related services. You can use accrued paid sick leave or vacation during this time, but your right to the time off doesn’t depend on having paid time available.

California also protects time off for jury duty, voting, school activities (up to 40 hours per year for parents at larger employers), volunteer emergency responder duty, and organ or bone marrow donation. Each has its own eligibility rules, but the common rule across all of them is the same: your employer cannot fire or punish you for taking legally protected time.

Getting Paid While You’re Out: SDI and PFL

Job-protected leave guarantees your position, not your paycheck. California’s wage-replacement programs are run by the Employment Development Department (EDD) and funded by the “CASDI” deductions on your pay stubs. There are two: Disability Insurance for your own medical conditions, and Paid Family Leave for bonding with a new child or caring for a seriously ill family member.¹⁰ Your employer does not pay these benefits.

Disability Insurance

SDI covers your own non-work-related illness, injury, or pregnancy. Benefits can run for up to 52 weeks, with weekly amounts between $50 and $1,765.¹¹ There is a seven-day unpaid waiting period. The first payable day is the eighth calendar day of your claim.¹²

Paid Family Leave

PFL provides up to eight weeks of wage replacement in a 12-month period for bonding with a new child, caring for a seriously ill family member, or supporting a family member’s military deployment.¹³ There is no seven-day waiting period for PFL. Important catch: PFL does not provide job protection on its own. The job protection has to come from CFRA or FMLA. If you don’t qualify for those laws, your employer may not be required to hold your job even while you’re collecting PFL.

How Much You’ll Receive

Your weekly benefit depends on your highest-earning quarter during a base period that covers roughly 5 to 18 months before your claim starts. You need at least $300 in wages during that base period to qualify.¹⁴

If your highest quarterly earnings fall between $722.50 and $16,279.90, you receive approximately 90 percent of your weekly wages.
Quarterly earnings between $16,279.91 and $20,931.30 receive a flat $1,127 per week.
If your highest quarterly earnings exceed $20,931.31, you receive 70 percent of your weekly wages, capped at $1,765 per week.¹⁵

PFL benefits are taxable on your federal return (the EDD sends a Form 1099-G) but not on your California return.¹⁶ You can ask the EDD to withhold federal taxes from your payments to avoid a surprise at filing time.

How to Request a Leave of Absence

Notice and Timing

If your need for leave is foreseeable, such as planned surgery or an expected due date, give your employer at least 30 days’ advance notice. If 30 days isn’t possible, notify your employer as soon as practicable. Your employer cannot deny CFRA-qualifying leave in an emergency just because you didn’t give advance notice, as long as you gave notice as soon as you reasonably could.¹⁷

Once your employer receives your request or becomes aware the absence may qualify, it must respond with a written eligibility notice within five business days, telling you whether you qualify, what documentation is needed, and your rights and responsibilities during leave.¹⁸

Medical Certification

For health-related leave, you’ll need certification from a licensed healthcare provider. It should include when the condition started, the expected duration, and a statement that you cannot perform your job (for your own condition) or that your family member needs care and your presence is necessary. Ask your provider to be specific about dates and limitations. Vague certifications are the most common source of delays and disputes.

Filing Your EDD Claim

Job protection and wage replacement are separate processes with separate paperwork. After arranging leave with your employer, file a separate claim for SDI or PFL through the EDD’s SDI Online portal. You’ll need your Social Security number, recent wage information, and your medical provider’s cooperation, since they submit their portion of the certification electronically. Once processed, the EDD sends a Notice of Computation showing your weekly benefit amount. Watch your account for requests for additional information so benefits aren’t interrupted.

How the Leaves Stack

The interaction between these laws is where things get genuinely confusing. The common scenarios:

New parent (birth): up to four months of PDL while medically disabled, followed by up to 12 weeks of CFRA bonding leave. SDI pays during PDL; PFL pays during the bonding leave. Total time off can reach roughly seven months.
Serious personal illness: up to 12 weeks of CFRA job protection, with SDI covering up to 52 weeks of wage replacement if your condition lasts that long. Job protection ends at 12 weeks even though benefits can continue.
Caring for a sick family member: up to 12 weeks of CFRA job protection, with up to 8 weeks of PFL benefits. The benefit period is shorter than the job-protection period.

The pattern across all three: job protection and wage replacement are separate entitlements with separate durations. A worker whose CFRA weeks expire can still collect SDI for months, but without the job guarantee. Someone whose PFL benefits run out at eight weeks still has four weeks of CFRA protection left. Mapping where each timeline starts and stops before you leave is the difference between a smooth return and an unpleasant surprise.

Retaliation Protections

Requesting or taking any legally protected leave in California is shielded from retaliation. Your employer cannot fire, demote, cut the hours of, or otherwise take adverse action against you for exercising your right to leave.² This covers CFRA leave, pregnancy disability leave, paid sick leave, bereavement leave, and crime victim leave.

If you believe your employer retaliated, you can file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department for CFRA and PDL violations, or with the Labor Commissioner’s Office for paid sick leave and other Labor Code protections. Employers who violate these laws face potential liability for lost wages, benefits, and additional damages. Save your leave request, your employer’s written response, and any communications about your job status before, during, and after your leave. Written records are what turn a strong suspicion into a provable claim.

1
California Civil Rights Department. Family Care and Medical Leave: Quick Reference Guide
2
California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 12945.2 – Family Care and Medical Leave
3
California Civil Rights Department. Expanded Family and Medical Leave in California
4
California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 12945.2 – Family Care and Medical Leave
5
California Civil Rights Department. Pregnancy Disability Leave Fact Sheet
6
California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 12945 – Discrimination Prohibited
7
Department of Industrial Relations. California Paid Sick Leave: Frequently Asked Questions
8
California Civil Rights Department. Bereavement Leave AB 1949 FAQ
9
Department of Industrial Relations. Workplace Protections for Victims of Crimes
10
Employment Development Department. State Disability Insurance
11
Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance Benefits
12
Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance Claim Process
13
Employment Development Department. Paid Family Leave
14
Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance Benefit Payment Amounts
15
Employment Development Department. Contribution Rates and Benefit Amounts
16
Employment Development Department. Tax Information (Form 1099G)
17
Cornell Law Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 2, 11091 – Requests for CFRA Leave
18
California Department of Human Resources. California Family Rights Act