California Paid Family Leave is a state insurance program that replaces roughly 70 to 90 percent of your wages, up to $1,765 per week in 2026, for up to eight weeks when you take time off to bond with a new child, care for a seriously ill family member, or handle certain military-related family needs.1Employment Development Department. Calculating PFL Benefit Payment Amounts It is funded entirely by employee payroll deductions and administered by the Employment Development Department as part of State Disability Insurance. One thing it does not do is protect your job — that comes from separate laws, and the gap trips up a lot of claimants.
Who Qualifies
Two conditions have to be met. You must have earned at least $300 in wages during a 12-month base period, and those wages must have had State Disability Insurance deductions taken out. Check your pay stubs for a line labeled “CASDI” — that confirms you’ve been paying in.2Employment Development Department. California Paid Family Leave You also have to be losing wages because of your absence. If your employer keeps paying your full salary while you’re out, you won’t qualify.
In 2026, the SDI withholding rate is 1.3 percent of wages with no cap on taxable earnings; the old wage ceiling was eliminated in 2024.3Employment Development Department. Contribution Rates and Benefit Amounts Every dollar you earn is subject to the same deduction, which funds both disability and PFL.
Standard W-2 employees have these deductions taken automatically. Self-employed workers and independent contractors are excluded unless they’ve opted into the Disability Insurance Elective Coverage program, which provides access to both disability and PFL benefits.4Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance Elective Coverage
What You Can Take Leave For
Bonding With a New Child
You can claim benefits to bond with a new child within the first year after a birth, adoption, or foster care placement. Both parents qualify regardless of gender or marital status, so two parents in the same household can each file separate claims for up to eight weeks apiece.5California Legislative Information. California Unemployment Insurance Code 3301
Caring for a Seriously Ill Family Member
The caregiving category covers a seriously ill child, spouse, domestic partner, parent, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling.6California Legislative Information. California Unemployment Insurance Code UIC 3301 A “serious health condition” means an illness or injury that requires either inpatient care or ongoing treatment by a healthcare provider. A routine cold or minor outpatient procedure doesn’t qualify.
Military Family Needs
If your spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent is deployed to a foreign country with the Armed Forces, you can use PFL for qualifying activities tied to that deployment: arranging legal or financial affairs, attending military briefings, or handling childcare needs the deployment creates.7California Legislative Information. California Unemployment Insurance Code UIC 3302.1 You’ll need documentation such as a copy of active duty orders or a letter confirming the call to active duty.8Employment Development Department. Paid Family Leave for Military Family
How Much You’ll Get and for How Long
Your weekly benefit is approximately 70 to 90 percent of your wages. Lower earners sit closer to the 90 percent figure; higher earners sit closer to 70 percent. The EDD calculates the amount from your highest-earning quarter during a base period spanning 5 to 18 months before your claim start date.1Employment Development Department. Calculating PFL Benefit Payment Amounts The 2026 maximum weekly benefit is $1,765.
Benefits last up to eight weeks within any 12-month period.5California Legislative Information. California Unemployment Insurance Code 3301 The 12 months are measured from the first day you establish a valid claim, not by calendar year.9Cornell Law Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 22 3301(d)-1 – Twelve-Month Period Defined You don’t have to use all eight weeks consecutively. Unlike State Disability Insurance, PFL has no waiting period, so benefits can start on your first day off.
PFL Does Not Protect Your Job
This is the piece most people miss. PFL is a check, not a guarantee that your position will be waiting when you return.10Employment Development Department. Paid Family Leave Nothing in the PFL statute prevents your employer from filling your role while you’re out. Job protection comes from separate statutes, and whether they apply to you depends on your tenure and your employer’s size.
The California Family Rights Act (CFRA) covers employees who have worked for their employer for at least 12 months and logged at least 1,250 hours during that time, as long as the employer has five or more employees.11California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12945.2 CFRA provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for the same bonding and caregiving reasons PFL covers. If you qualify, your employer must hold your position or an equivalent one and maintain your group health insurance during the leave.
The federal Family and Medical Leave Act offers similar protection but only applies to employers with 50 or more employees within 75 miles. CFRA’s lower threshold of five employees covers significantly more California workers. If neither law reaches your situation — six months on the job, or an employer with three employees — you can collect PFL benefits with no legal right to return to the same position. Knowing this before you file is worth more than any other piece of PFL information.
How to File a Claim
What You’ll Need
Gather your Social Security number, your employer’s name and contact information, and recent pay stubs showing CASDI deductions. Caregiving claims use Form DE 2501F. You complete Part A with your personal information, the family member you’re caring for signs Part C, and their physician or licensed health professional fills out Part D with a diagnosis and expected leave duration.12Employment Development Department. Paid Family Leave Claim Process Bonding claims use the same form, with proof of your relationship to the child (birth certificate, adoption papers, or foster care placement records) attached in Part B.13Employment Development Department. Paid Family Leave Claim for Benefits
Filing and Timing
File online through SDI Online, which the EDD recommends for faster processing, or mail a paper DE 2501F.12Employment Development Department. Paid Family Leave Claim Process The earliest you can submit is the first day of your leave; the EDD won’t accept claims filed before your time off begins. You have 41 days from the start of your leave to file, and missing that deadline risks losing benefits.14Employment Development Department. How to File a Paid Family Leave Claim in SDI Online If your initial claim form comes back incomplete, you have 10 days from the date the EDD mails it back to return it.5California Legislative Information. California Unemployment Insurance Code 3301
Processing typically takes about two weeks after the EDD receives a completed application.13Employment Development Department. Paid Family Leave Claim for Benefits Once approved, you choose how to receive payments: debit card, direct deposit, or mailed check.15Employment Development Department. Your Benefit Payment Options Claim status and payment history are available through your SDI Online account.
Stacking PFL With Employer Leave and CFRA
You can use employer-provided sick time, vacation, or PTO alongside PFL, but your combined pay from all sources cannot exceed your normal pre-leave wages. If it does, the EDD reduces your PFL payment.16Employment Development Department. Combined Wages With Benefits Some employers require you to use accrued leave concurrently with PFL as a matter of company policy, so check with HR before you file.
If you’re also taking CFRA or FMLA leave, PFL benefits run concurrently with the job-protected leave. You can use PFL to get paid during what would otherwise be unpaid CFRA time, but the eight weeks of PFL payments and the 12 weeks of CFRA protection overlap rather than stacking end to end.
Taxes on PFL Benefits
PFL benefits are subject to federal income tax but exempt from California state income tax.17Employment Development Department. Form 1099G FAQs The EDD does not automatically withhold federal taxes from your payments. If you want withholding, submit IRS Form W-4S to the EDD. Otherwise, set money aside for your federal tax bill or adjust your estimated payments.
In the last week of January, the EDD mails Form 1099-G showing your total taxable PFL benefits from the prior year, which you report on your federal return.17Employment Development Department. Form 1099G FAQs If the form doesn’t arrive, you can request a copy through the EDD’s automated phone system at 1-866-333-4606.
If Your Claim Is Denied
The EDD sends a written determination explaining the reason for a denial. You can appeal in writing within 30 days of the mailing date on that notice. Appeals go to the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, where an Administrative Law Judge hears evidence from both sides and issues a decision.18California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. Who is CUIAB
Common denial reasons include incomplete medical certifications, filing after the 41-day deadline, and wage records that don’t meet the $300 threshold. Many are fixable: a physician who forgot to sign Part D, a missing attachment, or a base-period calculation that shifts if you request an alternate period. If the ALJ rules against you, you can request further review by the full Appeals Board.