Coalition Priorities Passed This Year and New Laws Going Into Effect in 2025!
We are excited to share that several bills that California Work & Family Coalition members and partners worked hard to pass have been signed into law and are going into effect in 2025.
SB 1090 (Durazo), a top priority for California Work & Family Coalition, was signed into law this year. SB 1090 will allow Californians to apply for Paid Family Leave and State Disability Insurance up to 30 days prior to an anticipated leave. This important change will improve Paid Family Leave and Disability Insurance access for Californians and will go into effect as part of EDD’s modernization project, EDDNext.
Big changes are coming to California Paid Leave in 2025! Here’s what you need to know:
1) Paid Family Leave + Disability Insurance Benefits Will Increase to 90% for Most California Workers
Because of SB 951 (Durazo), a bill signed in 2022, starting January 1, 2025, people who need time off from work to bond with a new baby, care for a sick loved one, because of their health, or for certain needs when a family member is deployed, can receive up to 90% of their regular income while they are unable to work. This is because starting in 2025, California’s Paid Family Leave (PFL) and State Disability Insurance (SDI) Benefits will increase to 90% of regular wages for low to middle income workers (up from 60-70%). This change will mean that millions of California workers - those earning up to roughly $60,000 per year - will now be able to afford to take leave when they need it to bond with a new baby or to care for their own or a family member’s serious health condition. Higher income employees will receive 70% of their regular wages up to a cap. Click here to learn more.
2) Employers Will No Longer Be Able To Require Workers to Use Vacation Before Receiving Paid Family Leave Benefits
AB 2123(Papan) will go into effect on January 1, 2025. This bill removes an employer’s ability to require workers to use up to two weeks of accrued vacation before applying for Paid Family Leave benefits.
3) Workers Will Be Able to Use Paid Sick + Safe Days for New Reasons
AB 2499(Schiavo) will go into effect on January 1, 2025. This bill will allow workers to use their paid sick and safe days to support a family member, including chosen and extended family, for specific reasons related to safety planning.
4) Workers Will Be Able to Use Job Protected Safe Leave for New Reasons
AB 2499(Schiavo) will go into effect on January 1, 2025. This bill strengthens California’s existing protections for survivors of violence and will ensure that a family member, including chosen family, can also take job protected leave to support a family member, for specific reasons related to safety planning. Click here to learn more.
