For Moms in California - Paid Family Leave

FrodaBaggins · April 2014

Quick question for California moms - I just got done talking with HR at my company and we're both still a little confused (our HR is based out of state.) I'm getting 12 weeks total for maternity leave: 6-8 weeks, depending on whether it's a "normal" delivery or C-section, that's going to be fully paid (through short-term disability.) Then I'm going to use any paid time off I have accrued. This would put me with 2-3 weeks of unpaid leave, and I had a few people mention California Paid Family Leave to me. So I sent the link and my questions to our HR rep, but she's pretty sure that Paid Family Leave is not a separate thing from short-term disability in our state. So I wouldn't be able to use Paid family Leave, which I think is 55% of your salary, for those last 2-3 weeks of mat leave - but again, we're still not sure if that's right. Anyone else in a similar circumstance who can help shed some light?

Either way, I'm fine with it - happy to have that much paid! But it would be nice to have that little boost during the last weeks!

torooji · April 2014

The way my HR rep explained it to me is that I will get 20 wks off in total, 8 at 100% and 12 at 60%. The breakdown is:

- 8 wks at 100% come from the company's STD insurance, which is part of our employee benefits and unrelated to CA SDI.

- 6 wks at 60% come from SDI because I had a child.

- 6 wks at 60% come from SDI for Paid Family Leave (available to mothers and fathers for baby bonding).

torooji · April 2014

Oh, and she said that if I choose to leave 4 weeks before my due date that will be at 60% income and I'm pretty sure it would also come from SDI.

FrodaBaggins · April 2014

torooji said:

The way my HR rep explained it to me is that I will get 20 wks off in total, 8 at 100% and 12 at 60%. The breakdown is:
- 8 wks at 100% come from the company's STD insurance, which is part of our employee benefits and unrelated to CA SDI.
- 6 wks at 60% come from SDI because I had a child.
- 6 wks at 60% come from SDI for Paid Family Leave (available to mothers and fathers for baby bonding).

Thank you for this answer - so the company's STD insurance, "Short Term Disability", is the same as what will be paying for my 6-8 weeks at full pay. And then what does SDI stand for - State Disability Insurance? As in, it's a separate thing and unrelated?

Thanks again

torooji · April 2014

FrodaBaggins said:

torooji said:

The way my HR rep explained it to me is that I will get 20 wks off in total, 8 at 100% and 12 at 60%. The breakdown is:
- 8 wks at 100% come from the company's STD insurance, which is part of our employee benefits and unrelated to CA SDI.
- 6 wks at 60% come from SDI because I had a child.
- 6 wks at 60% come from SDI for Paid Family Leave (available to mothers and fathers for baby bonding).

Thank you for this answer - so the company's STD insurance, "Short Term Disability", is the same as what will be paying for my 6-8 weeks at full pay. And then what does SDI stand for - State Disability Insurance? As in, it's a separate thing and unrelated?

Thanks again

Yes, SDI is State Disability Insurance. It's a CA thing and totally unrelated to your benefits at work. If you take a look at your pay stub you'll see that you're paying in to it... so much, that unless you plan to have a baby every few years it actually costs us a lot more to have Paid Family Leave than we get out of it

FrodaBaggins · April 2014

sillermoon said:

I think the problem is you are getting your acronyms screwed up, which is normal, because this stuff is confusing. I just had to pull out the forms my HR department gave me.

We can have UP TO 17 1/3 weeks of paid Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL). This is the same/runs concurrently with the short term disability leave. This leave is paid (by the state) but it is your doctor who determines how much you need. This includes time both before and after the baby arrives. It sounds like your doctor is estimating you will get 6-8 weeks of this paid leave.

PDL runs concurrently with Federal Medical Leave Act (FMLA) time, which gives up to 12 weeks within a 12 month period. FMLA is typically unpaid leave.

California Family Rights Act Leave (CRFA) is also known as "bonding time" leave. This is unpaid. It is an additional 12 weeks in a 12 month period.

I think many people get confused and think CRFA leave is paid. It is not, unless your employer elects to pay for it. CRFA allows you to keep your current job and salary level while you are gone, but does not stipulate that you must be paid for it.

So in California, the maximum amount of leave you can take is 17 1/3 weeks + 12 weeks = ~23 weeks, which is roughly six months. However, you only get paid by the state for the portion that is actual 'disability leave' as determined by your doctor.

Hope that helps.

Thank you! I think another thing that's confusing me is that I don't technically qualify for FMLA, due to our branch of the company not employing x amount of people x amount of miles away from the home office. They are generously granting me a similar policy to the one that women at our home office get. And I think the 6-8 weeks fully paid is just the company's policy (they confirm with doctor). I could technically take up to 4 months but I just want to stick with the 3 especially since I'm looking at a few weeks of unpaid if I'm right about the Paid Family Leave.

FrodaBaggins · April 2014

torooji said:

FrodaBaggins said:

torooji said:

The way my HR rep explained it to me is that I will get 20 wks off in total, 8 at 100% and 12 at 60%. The breakdown is:
- 8 wks at 100% come from the company's STD insurance, which is part of our employee benefits and unrelated to CA SDI.
- 6 wks at 60% come from SDI because I had a child.
- 6 wks at 60% come from SDI for Paid Family Leave (available to mothers and fathers for baby bonding).

Thank you for this answer - so the company's STD insurance, "Short Term Disability", is the same as what will be paying for my 6-8 weeks at full pay. And then what does SDI stand for - State Disability Insurance? As in, it's a separate thing and unrelated?

Thanks again

Yes, SDI is State Disability Insurance. It's a CA thing and totally unrelated to your benefits at work. If you take a look at your pay stub you'll see that you're paying in to it... so much, that unless you plan to have a baby every few years it actually costs us a lot more to have Paid Family Leave than we get out of it

**~stuck in the quote box!!~**

Thank you for this answer. I guess this is what I need to possibly point out to my HR rep - that it's a separate thing. She just couldn't find any information that it was...hmmm...

torooji · April 2014

Since what @sillermoon said is slightly different from what I understood from my HR rep, I sent her an e-mail asking for clarification. I'll let you know if she tells me any info about SDI that will be useful for you!

Out of curiosity, where in CA are you ladies? I'm in OC.

rockyrollgirl · April 2014

SDI is the short term disability. 6-8 weeks.

Maternity Leave is what employers provide, but do not have to pay you for.

Paid Family Leave is something you file for seperately when on SDI. I think it is 2 weeks? At least from what I understood as California sent me the form during that time. I did not file as I was not returning to work.

I am probably wrong about all of that. That is just what I understood from it.

rockyrollgirl · April 2014

https://www.edd.ca.gov/disability/PFL_Forms_and_Publications.htm

Here is the link for forms and such. I believe there is a number to call for any questions you have.

torooji · April 2014

sillermoon said:

Oy, now I'm confused again and I've looked at this stuff multiple times. Can they not just call it one thing?!

Paid Family Leave is 6 weeks in a 12 month period and it is only for people covered by state SDI. It would cover 6 weeks of the CRFA time, if I'm reading that brochure @rockyrollgirl linked correctly.

Bah. I'm going to have to clarify with my HR person too!

I'm in the Sacramento area.

Does that mean some people are not covered by SDI? I noticed it on both H's and my paystubs and we both confirmed with our HR reps that we're eligible... so I assumed it's just another CA tax that everyone working has to pay. Is it optional?

If so, @FrodaBaggins, you might want to verify that you are covered by it. Maybe that's why your HR rep has so little context?

rockyrollgirl · April 2014

torooji said:

Since what @sillermoon said is slightly different from what I understood from my HR rep, I sent her an e-mail asking for clarification. I'll let you know if she tells me any info about SDI that will be useful for you!

Out of curiosity, where in CA are you ladies? I'm in OC.

Riverside County.

It is okay, it is confusing. I probably asked my employer and Kaiser a million questions. I still do not think I understand it really.

mikescutie7 · April 2014

I was told I get 6-8 weeks maternity leave thru my job, then 6 weeks from FMLA

I'm in riverside county

Scottwswife · April 2014

San Francisco here. So confused. Doesn't help that my HR department is in Boston either.

MC03 · April 2014

MrsDeo said:

Here's the FAQ about SDI and Paid Family Leave. My understanding is that SDI covers you for up to 4 weeks before your EDD and up to 6 weeks after delivery - this is for the physical "disability" of pregnancy and recovery (loosely determined, obviously a lot of women work up until their due date but you can take off earlier and get partially paid for it).

Then when that runs out, you can be covered for bonding time under Paid Family Leave, and your SO should be able to take leave under that as well. I think it covers at the same rate of pay as SDI. It also covers a longer time-frame, so you can stretch it out if you're working part time or something for up to a year, but you only get a maximum payment amount of 6 weeks worth, I think.

I get zero paid time from my job except for any PTO I have saved up, I will definitely be using both of these. There's a lot of information about it on the EDD's website but it's kind of spread out.

This is absolutely right. Last time with DD I took three weeks before my due date and then 8 weeks after her birth (c section). This was paid 60% by SDI (state of CA disability) and my employer used my sick and vacation time to make it 100% pay. Then I got an additional 6 weeks of paid family leave, paid at 60% by SDI and again my employer used my remaining vacation hours to make it to 100%. It is so confusing but make sure you do the research and show it to your HR person to get what you are owed. CA is actually one of the better states in terms of maternity leave so take advantage!

FrodaBaggins · April 2014

torooji said:

Since what @sillermoon said is slightly different from what I understood from my HR rep, I sent her an e-mail asking for clarification. I'll let you know if she tells me any info about SDI that will be useful for you!

Out of curiosity, where in CA are you ladies? I'm in OC.

I'm in the Burbank/Pasadena area!

Thanks for asking your HR rep for more info and if you do find anything useful, please let me know!

FrodaBaggins · April 2014

Scottwswife said:

San Francisco here. So confused. Doesn't help that my HR department is in Boston either.

Same for me here. Burbank/Pasadena area of LA, and HR department is based on the East Coast in NY, and I'm the first person at this branch to have a baby, so they're in uncharted territory!

duckshh · April 2014

Westside (Playa del Rey) over here!

It is very confusing and some companies don't always clearly explain all options, so be sure to be an advocate for yourself! Personally, I've had to meet with HR 3 separate times to get it straightened out (it still isn't, because they won't technically commit to anything until my Dr signs off, which makes sense... I have to take care of that at my next appointment).

I found this link to be really helpful. There is a little graph on pages 14/15 that helps explain everything.

https://workfamilyca.org/resources/pdf/ca_family_leave_guide2013.pdf

torooji · April 2014

duckshh said:

Westside (Playa del Rey) over here!

It is very confusing and some companies don't always clearly explain all options, so be sure to be an advocate for yourself! Personally, I've had to meet with HR 3 separate times to get it straightened out (it still isn't, because they won't technically commit to anything until my Dr signs off, which makes sense... I have to take care of that at my next appointment).

I found this link to be really helpful. There is a little graph on pages 14/15 that helps explain everything.

https://workfamilyca.org/resources/pdf/ca_family_leave_guide2013.pdf

Thanks for the chart!! Great resource

This echoes what I understood from my HR rep, except since my benefits include supplemental STD insurance there is an additional 8 wks I can stack on top of the Wage Replacement. But, it looks like if I did that AND needed the 4 wks pre-birth I would fall outside of the Job Protection period. Guess that's another thing I should ask about.

For Moms in California - Paid Family Leave

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