# California — State paid family and medical leave program contribution rates, benefits, and eligibility

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: appears in the quote below)_
- **Program name:** Paid Family Leave _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Benefits start date:** 2004 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Total contribution rate:** 1.3 percent _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Employer share:** employee-funded only
- **Employee share:** 1.3 percent _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **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, not quoted from the source)_
- **Program website:** https://edd.ca.gov/en/disability/paid-family-leave/

## 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.

## Source

- https://www.newamerica.org/insights/explainer-paid-leave-benefits-and-funding-in-the-united-states/

Last verified: 2026-08-15. Review by: 2026-12-13.
Part of [State paid family and medical leave program contribution rates, benefits, and eligibility](https://referencesource.org/state-paid-family-leave-programs/).