Paid Family Leave – Employers
Paid Family Leave (PFL) provides benefit payments to employees who need time off work to care for a seriously ill family member, bond with a new child, or participate in a qualifying event because of a family member’s military deployment to a foreign country. For more information, visit Employee Eligibility for PFL.
Employer Requirements
PFL benefits are funded by employees through State Disability Insurance (SDI) contributions from their paychecks. Employers are required to collect these contributions, send them to the EDD, and respond to employee claims for PFL. For more information, visit Employer Requirements.
Alternatives to State Disability Insurance
Disability Insurance Elective Coverage
The EDD offers an optional Disability Insurance Elective Coverage (DIEC) program for employers who are not required to collect employee contributions for State Disability Insurance but want to be covered by PFL and Disability Insurance. For more information, visit Disability Insurance Elective Coverage
Voluntary Plans
A Voluntary Plan (VP) is an alternative to State Disability Insurance (SDI). A VP must provide all the benefits of SDI and at least one benefit that is better than SDI, and it cannot cost employees more than SDI. An employer or a majority of employees can apply for approval of a VP to receive Paid Family Leave (PFL) and Disability Insurance benefits. For more information, visit Voluntary Plan Information.