California Expands Paid Family Leave Benefits

As of July 1, a new California law will expand the maximum duration of paid family leave benefits for employees. The new law also places requirements on the governor to propose other family leave benefits for workers by the end of the calendar year, which could provide increased protections for employees. If you have a sick family member or new addition to the family, it is critical that you understand your rights to paid family leave. Talk to a California employment law attorney today if you believe that your employer has infringed upon your rights to paid family leave, as you may have a claim for compensation.

Extended Paid Family Leave Benefits

Under the old paid family leave law, an employee was allowed to take six weeks paid leave from work for one of the following reasons:

• To care for a seriously ill child, parent, spouse, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or domestic partner, or
• To bond with a minor child within one year of their birth or with a child placed through foster care or adoption

As of July 1, paid family leave benefits are extended to eight weeks for all California workers who qualify under the law. California was the first state to enact paid family leave benefits, but in the interim, other states enacted family leave laws that were longer than six weeks.

Additional Family Leave Considerations

In addition to the expansion of paid family leave benefits from six to eight weeks, the new law also requires the California governor to propose additional family leave considerations within the next few months. First, a proposal must be made to extend paid family leave benefits from eight weeks to six months by 2021 or 2022 for the purposes of bonding with a new child. The six months will represent the total duration that both parents can take for bonding purposes.

The new law also requires the governor to create a task force that will address and propose legislation on a number of employment benefits. The first proposal is to include job protection benefits under the state paid family leave law. Currently, the only job protection comes from other legislation, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act. Another proposal is to increase wage replacement for low-wage employees to 90% during paid family leave, when the current wage replacement is only 60 to 70%. Finally, the task force is charged with creating a plan to implement and expand paid family leave benefits across California. These new proposals have the potential to significantly increase the amount of paid family leave that an employee can take as well as their wage replacement during this time.

Call or Contact an Employment Law Attorney

If you would like to learn more about your rights to paid family leave benefits, an experienced California employment attorney can help. Call or contact a lawyer in your area today to schedule a consultation about your California employment