Paid Family Leave under the UI Code

In Division 1, Part 2, Chapter 7 of the California Unemployment Insurance Code, the paid family leave program is established. Section 3300 sets forth seven legislative findings and declarations that it is in the public benefit to provide family temporary disability insurance benefits to workers to care for their family members. Family Temporary Disability Insurance is known as Paid Family Leave.

In addition, state disability insurance benefits currently provide wage replacement for workers who need time off due to their own nonwork-related injuries, illnesses, or conditions, including pregnancy, that prevent them from working, but do not cover leave to care for a sick or injured child, spouse, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or domestic partner, or leave to bond with a new child.

It is the intent of the Legislature to create a family temporary disability insurance program to help reconcile the demands of work and family. The family temporary disability insurance program is a component of the state’s unemployment compensation disability insurance program, that is funded through employee contributions.

Section 3301 states that the purpose of this chapter is to establish, within the state disability insurance program, a family temporary disability insurance program. Family temporary disability insurance must provide up to eight weeks of wage replacement benefits to workers who take time off work to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or domestic partner, to bond with a minor child within one year of the birth or placement of the child in connection with foster care or adoption, or to participate in a qualifying exigency related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of the individual’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Armed Forces of the United States.

The maximum amount payable to an individual during any disability benefit period for family temporary disability insurance is eight times the individual’s “weekly benefit amount,” but in no case can the total amount of benefits payable be more than the total wages paid to the individual during the individual’s disability base period. No more than eight weeks of family temporary disability insurance benefits are to be paid within any 12-month period.

Section 3302 defines the following terms: “care recipient,” “care provider,” “child,” “domestic partner,” “family care leave,” “family member,” “grandchild,” “grandparent,” “military member,” “parent,” “parent-in-law, “serious health condition,” “sibling,” “spouse,” “valid claim,” and “twelve-month period.”

Section 3302.1 defines the term “covered active duty” and “disability benefit period.” Section 3302.2 defines the phrase “qualifying exigency related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of the individual’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Armed Forces of the United States.”

Section 3303 requires an individual to be deemed eligible for family temporary disability insurance benefits equal to one-seventh of his or her weekly benefit amount on any day in which he or she is unable to perform his or her regular or customary work because of any of the specified conditions.

Section 3303.1 provides that an individual is not eligible for family temporary disability insurance benefits with respect to any day that any of the specified conditions apply.

Section 3304 requires eligible workers to receive benefits in accordance with provisions established under this division. Section 3305 provides that, if the director finds that any individual falsely certifies the medical condition of any person in order to obtain family temporary disability insurance benefits, with the intent to defraud, whether for the maker or for any other person, the director must assess a penalty against the individual in the amount of 25% of the benefits paid as a result of the false certification.

Section 3306 allows the director to request additional medical evidence to supplement the first or any continued claim if the additional evidence can be procured without additional cost to the care recipient. The director may require that the additional evidence include any or all of the specified information.

Section 3307 states that, when an employee requests for the first time leave because of a qualifying exigency arising out of the covered active duty or call to covered active duty or notification of an impending call or order to covered active duty of the employee’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Armed Forces of the United States, the department may require the employee to provide a copy of the covered active duty orders or other documentation issued by the military that indicates that the employee’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent is in the Armed Forces of the United States, is on covered active duty or call to covered active duty status, and the dates of the covered active duty service.

Section 3308 requires the department to distribute the application for family temporary disability insurance benefits in all non-English languages spoken by a substantial number of non-English-speaking applicants.