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California Paid Family Leave Insurance
Ten Quick Facts
Courtesy of the California Labor Federation and the Labor Project for Working Families
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Beginning July 1, 2004, workers will receive up to 6 weeks of paid leave per year to care for a new child (birth, adoption, or foster care) or seriously ill family member (parent, child, spouse, or domestic partner).
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Workers who already pay into the existing State Disability Insurance (SDI) system will be eligible for paid family leave.
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Worker payments began January 1, 2004. Benefits begin July 1, 2004. This time delay allows for administrative systems and funding to be established.
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This program is 100% employee-funded. A minimum wage earner will pay an additional $11.23 a year into SDI, while the estimated average cost is $27 per worker per year.
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The benefit will replace up to 55% of wages, up to a maximum of $728 per week in 2004. The maximum benefit will increase automatically each year in accordance with increases in the state's average weekly wage.
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There is a one-week waiting period before workers can apply for paid family leave (like the UI program).
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Employers can require a worker to use a maximum of two weeks of vacation time first before receiving paid family leave. One week will be used to cover the waiting period.
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Businesses with fewer than 50 employees are not required to hold a job for a worker who goes on paid family leave. Collective bargaining agreements may offer different protections for these workers.
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New mothers eligible for pregnancy-related SDI will also be eligible for paid family leave.
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California is the first state in the country to create a comprehensive paid family leave program. Current state and federal law guarantee 12 weeks of unpaid leave for those working for larger employers; this new law guarantees that 6 of those weeks would be paid.
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