Existing unemployment compensation disability law requires workers to pay contribution rates based on, among other things, wages received in employment and benefit disbursement, for payment into the Unemployment Compensation Disability Fund, a special fund in the State Treasury. That fund is continuously appropriated for the purpose of providing disability benefits and making payment of expenses in administering those provisions.
Existing law establishes, within the above state disability insurance program, a family temporary disability insurance program, also known as the paid family leave program, for the provision of wage replacement benefits for up to 8 weeks to workers who take time off work to care for a seriously ill family member or to bond with a minor child within one year of birth or placement, as specified. Existing law defines “weekly
benefit amount” for purposes of both employee contributions and benefits under this program to mean the amount of weekly benefits available to qualifying disabled individuals pursuant to unemployment compensation disability law, calculated pursuant to specified formulas partly based on the applicable percentage of the wages paid to an individual for employment by employers during the quarter of the individual’s disability base period in which these wages were highest, but not to exceed the maximum workers’ compensation temporary disability indemnity weekly benefit amount established by the Department of Industrial Relations.
This bill would revise the formula for determining benefits available pursuant to the family temporary disability insurance program, for periods of disability commencing after January 1, 2022, by redefining the weekly benefit amount to be equal to 90% of the wages paid to an individual for employment by employers during the quarter of the
individual’s disability base period in which these wages were highest, divided by 13, but not exceeding the maximum workers’ compensation temporary disability indemnity weekly benefit amount established by the Department of Industrial Relations.
By providing for the deposit of additional contributions in, and by authorizing an increase in disbursements from, the Unemployment Compensation Disability Fund, this bill would make an appropriation.