California
For California, program name is Paid Family Leave; benefits start date is 2004; total contribution rate is 1.3 percent; employer share is employee-funded only; employee share is 1.3 percent, recorded from its source on 2026-08-15.
- State
- California verified
- Program name
- Paid Family Leave verified
- Benefits start date
- 2004 verified
- Total contribution rate
- 1.3 percent verified
- Employer share
- employee-funded only
- Employee share
- 1.3 percent verified
- Maximum weekly benefit
- $1,765
- Wage replacement formula
- 90 percent of wages for workers making less than 70 percent of the state's average quarterly wage and 70 percent for other workers
- Family leave duration
- 8 weeks
- Medical leave duration
- 52 weeks
- Employer size threshold
- 1 employee
- Covered reasons
- bonding, own serious health condition, family caregiving, military exigency our reading
- Program website
- https://edd.ca.gov/en/disability/paid-family-leave/
Values marked our reading are our classification of what the source says — the source does not print them in those words. The quote below is the evidence for each one; judge it yourself.
What the source says
Payroll Tax Rates, Benefit Caps, and Duration California’s law was passed in 2002, implemented in 2004, and has been amended multiple times, including in 2022 to greatly increase wage replacement beginning in 2025. The maximum length of family leave increased from six to eight weeks on July 1, 2020. See <http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB83> SB 83 and <https://www.edd.ca.gov/Payroll_Taxes/What_Are_State_Payroll_Taxes.htm> tax rates and wage bases . On January 1, 2021, individuals became eligible to receive up to six weeks of military exigency leave; see <https://www.edd.ca.gov/pdf_pub_ctr/de2530.pdf> California Employment Development Department . In 2026, payroll tax contributions are 1.3 percent, a slight increase from the 1.2 percent rate charged in 2025. In New Jersey, 2019 legislation made changes to the state paid family leave program.
— newamerica.org, retrieved 2026-08-15
Source
- newamerica.orghttps://www.newamerica.org/insights/explainer-paid-leave-benefits-and-funding-in-the-united-states/