What is California Paid Family Leave (PFL)?

PFL extends disability compensation under State Disability Insurance (SDI) and USC's California Voluntary Plan (our Basic Disability Plan) to cover individuals who take time off work to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, parent, or domestic partner, or to bond with a new child due to birth, adoption, or foster care placement. This FAQ is intended to provide general information for discussion purposes only. (Note: PFL DOES NOT provide job protection.   The University may post and replace the position of an employee on PFL unless the employee is protectd by FMLA and/or CFRA). See Below.

Who is eligible? All California employees covered by the SDI program or USC's Basic Disability Plan.

Is there a minimum number of hours or period of time to qualify for PFL? Employees are generally covered from the first day of employment provided they have base period earnings of at least $300.

If an employee does not meet the qualifications for protected leave under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) or Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), are they still entitled to PFL? Yes, the employee is entitled to the wage replacement benefits under PFL, but not the job protection as provided by other leave laws.

Are part-time employees covered? Yes, all employees are covered provided they meet the other eligibility requirements.

Is there a waiting period? Yes, the waiting period is seven (7) non-payable calendar days. Employees may use vacation or sick time or both during the 7-day waiting period. If an employee has no vacation or sick time accrued the 7-day waiting period will be unpaid.

Can the waiting period be satisfied by intermittent absences? Yes

Type of PFL Leaves

How is family care leave defined under PFL? Leave is defined the same as CFRA but does not grant any additional rights to the employee.

How is a family member defined? Family member is generally defined as child, parent, spouse, or domestic partner.

Does the family member of the employee have to reside in California ? No.

How is child defined? Child is generally defined as biological, adopted, foster, stepchild, or child of an employee that stands in “loco parentis” to that child.

What is the definition of domestic partner? A registered domestic partner is defined in Section 297 of the Family Code.

Can an employee use PFL for the care of an in-law? No, it must be the employee's parent: biological, foster, adoptive, stepparent, legal guardian, or in someone that stood in “loco parentis” to the employee.

Can a husband and wife take leave concurrently? They both cannot take leave for the same daily eight hours of care of a family member, but they may take concurrent leaves should care need to be provided in excess of eight hours per day. A husband and wife may take concurrent leaves for bonding, but the husband is subject to the 7 calendar day waiting period. The wife will have satisfied the waiting period with her pregnancy leave.

When do contributions begin? Contributions begin on January 1, 2004

Is PFL employee or employer paid? It is employee paid. The contribution is added to either your SDI or USC Basic Plan contribution.

What is the contribution rate for PFL? The contribution rate for 2006 is included in the contribution rate for Short Term Disability which is 0.80% of the first 79,418 of taxable wages. The maximum annual employee contribution is $635.34.

Benefits

When do benefits begin? Benefits will be payable for qualifying leaves commencing on or after July 1, 2004 .

What is the benefit? The PFL benefit is the same benefit that the employee is entitled to under the SDI program, 55% of base period wages up to $840 per week in 2006, subject to a $50 weekly minimum.

How long is the benefit? Six (6) times the weekly benefit amount paid in a 12-month period.

How is the 12-month period defined? The 12-month period is defined as 365 consecutive days rolling forward from the first PFL request.

Is the waiting period part of the six (6) weeks of benefits? No, the waiting period is not included in the six (6) weeks.

Who pays the PFL benefit to the employee? If the employee is enrolled in the USC Basic Disability Plan, benefits are paid by USC based on data received from the disability vendor, Sedgwick CMS. If the employee is enrolled in SDI, the state will pay the benefit.

If an employee is on a pregnancy-related leave, does the employee need to satisfy two seven (7) day waiting periods, one for disability maternity leave and one for bonding under PFL? No, for pregnancy claims the employee is required to satisfy only one waiting period.

If an employee is on a pregnancy-related leave, is the employee required to apply for both disability maternity leave and PFL? Yes, the bonding leave under PFL may be taken any time up to one year after the birth and must be requested by the employee.

May an employer require employees to take all six (6) weeks at once? No, the employee may take the benefits intermittently or in blocks of time over the 12-month period as necessary for the care of a family member; however this care schedule must be certified by the physician.

Can bonding leave be taken intermittently?

Yes, bonding leave can be taken intermittently. However, the statute specifically provides that PFL leave must be taken concurrently with leave under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA). The basic minimum duration of a CFRA bonding leave is two weeks. However, an employer shall grant request for a CFRA leave of less than two weeks on any two occasions. After these two occasions, CFRA/PFL leave must be taken in blocks of two weeks.

NOTE: If an employee is not eligible for CFRA, then job protection does not exist. For questions about CFRA, please call the UPC Personnel Department, 213-437-1811, or visit the Department of Fair Employment and Housing website at http://www.dfeh.ca.gov/Statutes/CFRA.asp

Can an employee collect other benefits while collecting PFL? No, an employee may not collect PFL if receiving SDI, Basic Disability, Unemployment Compensation Insurance, or Workers' Compensation Insurance.

Are PFL Benefits Taxed? Yes, PFL Benefits are subject to Federal Taxes. They will not be considered wages for purpose of Social Security and Medicare.

Integration With Other Leaves

Does PFL run concurrently with CFRA and FMLA? Yes, PFL runs concurrently with CFRA and FMLA leaves.

Are employees required to take CFRA and FMLA leave at the same time they are getting PFL? Yes.

What if the employee has exhausted CFRA and FMLA or is not entitled to FMLA or CFRA? The employee is still entitled to PFL, but they are not entitled to job protection. PFL does not give an employee any additional rights under CFRA or FMLA.