California Leaves of Absence Chart: CFRA, PDL, and Paid Sick Leave

California leaves of absence cover more ground than any other state’s, giving workers job protection and, in many cases, partial wage replacement for their own illness, a new child, a family member’s serious health condition, bereavement, reproductive loss, organ donation, jury service, voting, school activities, crime victimization, and military family needs. The leaves have different eligibility rules, different durations, and different rules about whether they run concurrently or stack. Getting the sequence right is often the difference between a few weeks off and several months.

Quick Reference: California Leave Entitlements

California Family Rights Act (CFRA): up to 12 weeks, unpaid, employers with 5+ workers
Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL): up to 4 months (17⅓ workweeks), unpaid, employers with 5+ workers
Paid sick leave: 40 hours per year, paid, all employers
Bereavement leave: up to 5 days, generally unpaid, employers with 5+ workers
Reproductive loss leave: up to 5 days per event (20-day annual cap), generally unpaid, employers with 5+ workers
Organ donation leave: up to 30 business days paid, plus 30 unpaid; bone marrow donation: 5 paid business days
Jury duty and court attendance: job-protected, generally unpaid
Voting leave: up to 2 hours, paid
School activities leave: up to 40 hours per year, unpaid, employers with 25+ at the same location
Crime victims’ leave: time off for medical care, court, and safety, with anti-retaliation protection
Military spouse leave: up to 10 days, unpaid, employers with 25+ workers

Wage replacement while you’re out generally comes from two Employment Development Department programs: State Disability Insurance (SDI) for your own health condition, and Paid Family Leave (PFL) for bonding or caring for a family member.

California Family Rights Act: 12 Weeks of Job-Protected Leave

The CFRA, at Government Code section 12945.2, is the state’s core job-protected leave law. It requires employers with five or more workers to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period.¹ You need more than 12 months of service with the employer and at least 1,250 hours worked during those 12 months to qualify.

You can use CFRA leave for your own serious health condition, to care for a family member with a serious health condition, or to bond with a new child by birth, adoption, or foster placement. Covered family members include children of any age, parents, spouses, domestic partners, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, and a “designated person” with a blood or family-like relationship to you.² The designated-person category is unique to California and can cover someone who doesn’t fit any traditional family definition but who functions like family in your life.

Your employer must return you to the same or a comparable position when you come back.¹ CFRA leave doesn’t have to be taken in a single block. When medically necessary, you can take it intermittently—a few hours for a recurring appointment, a couple of days at a time during treatment, or a reduced weekly schedule. For foreseeable leave, employers can require at least 30 days’ advance notice.³

If your employer is also covered by the federal FMLA (50 or more workers within a 75-mile radius), CFRA and FMLA generally run at the same time for the same qualifying reason. You don’t get 24 combined weeks.⁴ The important exception is pregnancy, where the leaves are sequential and can extend your total time off substantially.

Pregnancy Disability Leave and How It Stacks with CFRA

PDL gives you up to four months—equivalent to 17⅓ workweeks—of job-protected time off for any disability related to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition.⁵ 6 Unlike CFRA, PDL has no tenure requirement and no hours-worked threshold. You’re eligible from your first day, and part-time workers qualify. Your employer must maintain your group health insurance at the same level and under the same conditions as if you were still working, for up to four months of leave.

Here is where new parents most often leave time on the table. PDL runs at the same time as FMLA, but CFRA does not run during PDL. CFRA bonding leave starts after your pregnancy disability ends.⁴ A pregnant employee covered by both CFRA and PDL can receive up to four months of pregnancy disability leave followed by 12 weeks of CFRA bonding leave. That’s roughly seven months of job-protected time off in total.

Paid Sick Leave

Every California employer, regardless of size, must provide paid sick leave. Since January 1, 2024, the entitlement is 40 hours (five days) per year.⁷ Employees accrue at least one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked starting from their first day, or employers can frontload the full 40 hours at the beginning of each year.

You can use paid sick leave for your own health needs or to care for a family member. Accrued hours carry over year to year, though employers can cap annual use at 40 hours and total accrual at 80 hours.⁷

Bereavement Leave

Employers with five or more workers must provide up to five days of bereavement leave when an employee loses a family member.⁸ You must have worked for the employer for at least 30 days. The five days don’t have to be consecutive, but they must be completed within three months of the death.

Covered family members include spouses, children, parents, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, domestic partners, and parents-in-law. If your employer has an existing paid bereavement policy, you take leave under those terms. Otherwise, the leave may be unpaid, though you can use accrued vacation, sick time, or personal leave to cover it. Your employer can request documentation—a death certificate, obituary, or written verification from a funeral home or religious institution—within 30 days of the first day of leave.

Reproductive Loss Leave

Employees at workplaces with five or more people can take up to five days of leave after a reproductive loss event: a miscarriage, stillbirth, failed adoption, failed surrogacy, or unsuccessful assisted reproduction. The days don’t need to be consecutive but must be taken within three months of the event. If you experience more than one qualifying loss in a 12-month period, you’re entitled to another five days per event, up to a cap of 20 days per year. The time off is unpaid unless you use accrued paid leave. This protection is codified at Government Code section 12945.6.

Organ and Bone Marrow Donor Leave

If you’re donating an organ, your employer must provide up to 30 business days of paid leave in a one-year period, plus an additional 30 business days of unpaid leave if needed. Bone marrow donors get five paid business days.⁹ This is one of the few California leaves that is explicitly paid by statute.

Jury Duty, Voting, and Court Attendance

Your employer cannot fire or penalize you for taking time off to serve on a jury or to appear in court under a subpoena. The leave is job-protected but generally unpaid.¹⁰

For voting, if you don’t have enough time outside your work hours to get to the polls on election day, you can take up to two hours of paid time off. The time must be taken at the beginning or end of your shift, whichever gives you the most free time to vote, unless you and your employer agree otherwise. Give your employer at least two working days’ notice if you know ahead of time that you’ll need the time.¹¹

School Activities Leave

Parents at workplaces with 25 or more employees at the same location can take up to 40 hours per year to participate in school or child care activities, enroll a child in school, or address a school or child care emergency. No more than eight hours can be used in any single calendar month.¹² The leave is unpaid unless you choose to use vacation or personal time.

Crime Victims’ Leave

Employees who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other qualifying crimes can take time off to seek medical treatment, obtain a restraining order, attend safety planning, relocate, or participate in legal proceedings. The same protections extend to employees whose family members are crime victims. Employers cannot retaliate against you for using this leave, and you’re entitled to reasonable accommodations, such as a schedule change or transfer, to help you stay safe at work.¹⁰

Military Spouse Leave

If your spouse is a member of the Armed Forces, National Guard, or Reserves who has been deployed to a combat zone, you can take up to 10 days of unpaid leave during their leave from deployment. This applies at employers with 25 or more workers, and you must average at least 20 hours per week. You need to notify your employer within two business days of learning about the deployment leave and provide written documentation.¹³

Getting Paid While on Leave: SDI and PFL

CFRA and PDL protect your job. They don’t pay you. For wage replacement, you file with the Employment Development Department under one of two programs.

State Disability Insurance provides partial wage replacement when you can’t work due to a non-work-related illness, injury, pregnancy, or childbirth.¹⁴ For claims starting on or after January 1, 2025, the benefit rate is between 70% and 90% of your wages depending on your income, with lower earners receiving the higher replacement rate. The maximum weekly benefit is $1,765.¹⁵ A seven-day non-payable waiting period applies at the start of each disability benefit period.¹⁶

Paid Family Leave provides up to eight weeks of wage replacement to bond with a new child, care for a seriously ill family member, or handle a qualifying military exigency.¹⁷ Covered family members include children, spouses, domestic partners, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings. The benefit rate and maximum weekly amount match SDI.

One trap to avoid: PFL is a wage replacement benefit only. It does not protect your job. If you want both pay and job protection, pair PFL with CFRA or another leave law that guarantees reinstatement. Filing for PFL without also establishing your right to job-protected leave is a common and expensive mistake.¹⁷

How to File

The fastest way to file for SDI or PFL is through SDI Online via your myEDD account. If you prefer paper, use form DE 2501 for disability claims or DE 2501F for paid family leave claims.¹⁸

For medical-related leaves, you’ll need certification from your health care provider that includes when the condition began and how long it’s expected to last. Your doctor is not required to disclose the underlying diagnosis to your employer without your consent.¹⁹ You’ll also need your Social Security number, your employer’s name and address, and dates that match your provider’s certification. For foreseeable events like a birth or scheduled surgery, give your employer at least 30 days’ notice when possible.³ For unexpected medical needs, notify your employer as soon as it’s practical.

If Your Leave Rights Are Violated

If your employer fires, demotes, or retaliates against you for taking protected leave, you have options. For violations of California-specific leave laws like CFRA, PDL, or bereavement leave, file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department. For federal FMLA violations, contact the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division at 1-866-487-9243, or file a private lawsuit in court.²⁰ Federal claims generally must be brought within two years of the violation.²¹

Complaints to the Wage and Hour Division are confidential; the agency won’t disclose your name or confirm that a complaint exists. Retaliation for filing or cooperating with an investigation is prohibited.²⁰ If an investigation finds violations, remedies can include reinstatement, back pay, and in some cases additional damages equal to the back pay owed.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 12945.2 – Family Care and Medical Leave
2
California Civil Rights Department. Family Care and Medical Leave Quick Reference Guide
3
Cornell Law Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 2 Section 11091 – Requests for CFRA Leave
4
California Civil Rights Department. Leave for Pregnancy Disability and Child Bonding Quick Reference Guide
5
California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12945 – Pregnancy Disability Leave
6
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 2 CCR 11035 – Definitions
7
California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 246 – Paid Sick Leave
8
California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12945.7 – Bereavement Leave
9
California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 1510 – Organ and Bone Marrow Donor Leave
10
California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 230 – Employee Leave for Jury Duty, Court Attendance, and Victims of Crime or Abuse
11
California Legislative Information. California Elections Code 14000 – Voting Leave
12
California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 230.8 – Child-Related Activities
13
California Legislative Information. California Code Military and Veterans Code MVC 395.10 – Military Spouse Leave
14
Employment Development Department. State Disability Insurance
15
Employment Development Department. Contribution Rates and Benefit Amounts
16
Cornell Law Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 22 Section 2627(b)-1 – Waiting Period
17
California Legislative Information. California Code Unemployment Insurance Code UIC 3301 – Family Temporary Disability Insurance
18
Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave Forms and Publications
19
California Civil Rights Department. Certification of Health Care Provider for CFRA or FMLA
20
U.S. Department of Labor. How to File a Complaint
21
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 77B – Protection for Individuals Under the FMLA