Organizations all over California try to stay ahead by making sure they comply when it comes to offering paid leave for their staff. Besides the legal aspects, it is also imprortant to prove that you value their well-being and can offer the support they need. How do you guarantee this? Read on for a comprehensive guide on California’s main types of paid leave in California, helping businesses understand their obligations and how EarnPayroll can make leave management and compliance easy.
California labor laws offer job security for employees, and your role as the employer is to comply with them, as complex as they may seem. You need to explore types of paid leave in California, including sick, parental & family leave. Our guide explains regulations and employer responsibilities.
What Is Paid Leave and Its Types Typically Provided in California
Leave laws in California protect employees, allowing them to take time off to manage important personal matters. You are required to support them, making sure they have a proper work-life balance and while at it, know that their jobs are secure. The leave laws in California are quite progressive and companies try to keep up with them to stay compliant. These are the types of paid leave granted by employers in the state:
- Paid sick leave (PSL)
- Paid family leave
- Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL)
- Parental Leave
- Vacation leave
- Jury Duty leave
- Military leave
Dealing with the complexities of paid leave in California can be difficult. While staying updated on the new rules, you must also maintain accurate record keeping, checking that all staff members are supported. You manage the leave requests, approve them, and compensate accordingly so you need a tracking system to make the processes easy. Luckily, EarnPayroll’s HR and payroll services come in to take these tasks off your hands, simplifying compliance and management so you can focus on other important aspects of your company.
Paid Sick Leave (PSL)
Paid sick leave, or PSL, is one of the permanent California labor laws that mandates employers offer their staff paid time off to take care of themselves or their loved ones. PSL is usually utilized to allow them to recover from injuries (mental or physical), seek diagnosis or treatment for an illness, or take care of a family member going through any of the above.
Duration and Eligibility
If you’re wondering how many sick days can you have per year, you should provide five days off for paid medical leave or a minimum of 40 hours every year. However, there are two options when complying with this law: you can grant all the hours at once or establish an accrual annual plan where you offer an hour of paid leave for every 30 hours the employee works. This is for temporary, full, or part-time workers who meet certain qualifications.
They must have been employed for at least 90 days before taking the leave and must have worked for the same company for a minimum of 30 days within the same year in California. Don’t worry if this seems complex; employee time and attendance tracking services will help you calculate these hours and track them accurately, making sure compliance.
Paid Family Leave
Paid family leave (PFL) is another important support California employees receive when they need time off work to manage significant life events.
Duration and Eligibility
Staff members qualify for paid leave if they need time off for their families but need their wages. They can apply if they need to spend time with a newborn baby, or need to care for their partner, child, parent, grandchild, or sibling.
If eligible, they can receive up to 8 weeks of paid leave, which is usually 60-70 percent of their weekly earnings from 5-18 months since they started their claim. If you are not sure how it works, you can trust EarnPayroll to solve the complexities and smooth out the entire process.
Paid Family Leave for Mothers (Maternity Leave)
Mothers can get paid family leave California after giving birth. If they are pregnant, they may receive Disability Insurance (DI) before their due date or while recovering from childbirth. This gives them enough time to bond with their babies. Note that all mothers qualify regardless of their citizenship status.
Paid Family Leave for Fathers (Paternity Leave)
When requesting California paid family leave, the eligibility criteria and duration for fathers are the same as for mothers. They are also granted time off to bond with their new babies without suffering a wage loss.
Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL)
Pregnancy disability leave is similar to paid family medical leave, but it is granted to support the recovery of pregnancy-related medical conditions and is only a job-protected leave. It protects employees who have been disabled due to childbirth, pregnancy, or related complications.
Duration and Eligibility
To be eligible, you must have coverage as the employer, and the employee’s complication or disability must be related to childbirth or pregnancy such that it prevents them from performing their daily tasks. If successful, you can offer up to four months of leave for every pregnancy, and employees can take it when they need it as long as they have medical certification to support their request.
State Disability Insurance (SDI) Benefits
While PDL protects the employee’s job, the California State Disability Insurance (CASDI) offers wage replacement benefits. The CASDI tax is deducted from the paycheck and goes towards insurance that funds their pregnancy-related disability. As of 2025, the tax rate stands at 1.2%, and upon approval, the employees can receive 60-70% of their usual wages for a certain time frame depending on their earnings and condition.
Parental Leave
Parental leave California is a benefit granted to employees to take time off and care for their new babies or adopted children. It includes adoption leave, maternity leave, and paternity leave. Parental leave is truly important for staff to create a healthy work-life balance, fulfilling their caregiving duties while securing their jobs. In addition to paid leave options, many employers offer perks and benefits to support employees during this period.
Duration and Eligibility
Employees are eligible for paid parental leave if they need the time with their babies, and they can receive up to 8 weeks of paid leave. It is offered for both mothers and fathers and is protected by the California Family Rights Act (CFRA).
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) Leave
If eligible for the CFRA, employees can take a maximum of 12 weeks of paid or unpaid leave within a year. They are eligible if they need the time off to care for their loved one (child, spouse, or parent) or cannot work due to severe health complications. In this case, a serious health condition means incapacitation due to an illness or injury, which prevents them from doing normal daily tasks.
Proper California health insurance management helps employees choose the right health coverage while on leave. It also makes sure they keep their important benefits.
Vacation Leave
Currently, there are no specific laws in California stating that you should provide annual leave or paid time off to your employees, so it depends on your policies. Paid Time Off (PTO) can combine California sick leave, personal days, and vacation days for your staff to use when they need to, which is also based on individual policies.
Duration and Eligibility
Generally, to qualify for the PTO, employees must have worked for you for at least 30 days in the last 12 months, although the rules may vary based on your policies. As for the duration, the law states that the time off is earned, and in case of termination, you must pay for the unused vacation time. It can be hard to monitor this, so with quality HR solutions, you will be sure that these vacation times are tracked and managed, and all the employees are correctly paid.
Jury Duty Leave
Like PTO, California doesn’t require you to offer compensation due to jury duty, so it depends on your policies. You can allow a certain number of paid days, but employees can also use accrued PTO days or vacation days for it. Therefore, you cannot fire, demote, or take any action against staff for taking the time off.
Duration and Eligibility
All employees in the state are eligible for jury duty leave as long as they provide proof of the subpoena or a notice from the court. For the duration, jurors are on call for about 10 days or up to 2 weeks, but it depends on specific aspects.
Military Leave
If you have employed members of the National Guard, then it means that they can be called for duty which can go for months but while away, their job rights are still protected.
Duration and Eligibility
California law protects anyone who is a member of the Army, Air Force, Navy, or any US Military branch. They are entitled to paid leave and can be reinstated to their former position when they apply for reinstatement within 40 days of being discharged.
State and local laws always apply when granting paid leave. Therefore, you should stay updated in case of changes and maintain an accurate record of various requests. This can be difficult for many companies, especially if you have many employees who live in various locations. That’s why you should consider giving the important tasks to professionals who will manage the complex aspects of compliance and record keeping, while you can focus on other strategically important matters of your company.
