California Disability Insurance - Legislative Guidance

Overview
Employer Coverage
Employee Eligibility
Qualifying Absence Reasons and Leave Duration
How Leave Can be Taken
Certification Requirements
Pay and Benefits
Interaction with Other Laws
Employee and Employer Responsibilities
Resources

Overview

California Disability Insurance also known as California State Disability Insurance(CASDI) provides eligible employees with up to 52 weeks of partial pay benefit due to the employee's own health condition or pregnancy.

CASDI is funded through employee and employer tax contributions. California employers can also choose to have an equivalent plan that provides the same or greater benefits than the state program. Equivalent plans must be approved by the California Employment Development Department (EDD). Additionally, EDD allows employers who do not meet the thresholds for employer coverage but still want to offer their employees pay benefits, an optional plan.

The EDD makes determinations on the claims and may request information from an employer to approve the claim. Benefit payments are made directly to the employee from the EDD.

AbsenceSoft Policies

California Disability Insurance also known as California State Disability Insurance is configured in AbsenceSoft with the policy code below:

California Disability Insurance CA-STD

Legislation codes and statues

The information presented in the guidance relates to the following legislative codes, links to the specific legislation can be found within the 'Resources' section of this document:

California Code of Regulations, Title 22, Division 1, Subdivision 1, Division 1, Part 2, Articles 1-6 (Cal. Code Regs. §2601-1 et seq)

Employer Coverage

Employers are considered covered employers where their employees make in excess of $100 in a calendar quarter.

Exclusions:

Interstate railroad employers
Nonprofit employers
Religious organizations

Employee Eligibility

An employee must complete a 7-day waiting period, have earned at least $300 in wages subject to SDI deductions within a 12-month base period and have a qualifying reason for leave. Employees collecting other state or federally paid benefits such as unemployment, may not be eligible for CASDI.

Exclusions:

Some Domestic Workers (must accumulate at least $750 in wages in a calendar quarter)
Some governmental employees(campaign workers or lobbyists, etc)
Religious individuals

Qualifying Absence Reasons and Leave Duration

Employees may take up to 52 weeks of disability pay within the base period with certain exceptions relating to pregnancy and stays in residential alcohol or substance abuse programs.

Medical Care

Employee Health Condition: Care for the employee's own serious health condition, includes elective surgeries, and stays in certain alcohol or substance abuse programs.
Pregnancy/Maternity: Pregnancy disability or pregnancy-related disability.

How Leave Can be Taken

Employees may receive pay for consecutive, intermittent, or reduced periods for any qualifying reason.

Consecutive leave: A continuous, uninterrupted period of leave taken for a single qualifying reason.
Intermittent leave: Leave taken in separate, sometimes unpredictable, blocks of time (either hours, days or weeks) between the start and end dates of leave.
Reduced schedule: A reduction to the employees' work schedule that results in either fewer hours per day or fewer days per week. A reduced schedule is consistent from one week to the next.

💡 Intermittent and/or part-time work schedules may be covered under CASDI in some situations. Employees should direct questions to the state when applying to confirm if their situations qualifies for intermittent/reduced schedule payments.

Certification Requirements

The state provides claimants with the proper verification or certification requirements or forms. Employees must file for benefits within 41 days from the date of disability.

Employers may receive forms from the EDD to confirm certain facts about the leave event. Employers who are integrating wages on a regular basis with CASDI can apply to be a wage integrated employer and may have fewer requests from the state. Timely responses are requested, and if an employer fails to respond within the time frame, the employee may still be approved for benefits.

Employers will not be informed if the employee is approved for benefits unless the employee has agreed to share information with the employer.

💡 Employers should be mindful of any CASDI certification documentation that comes back to them rather than EDD. California has medical privacy laws pertaining to employees and their family members. Certain information provided to the EDD is not allowed to be asked for by employers.

Pay and Benefits

This is a pay only benefit. Where state pay benefits are involved with other law interactions, such as state mandated sick pay, employers will want to consider where PTO/employer pay benefit application should occur.

There is a 7 day waiting period before benefits begin. If a claim is reopened within 60 days, the waiting period does not apply.

Amount of Pay

CASDI pays a weekly benefit amount that is determined by comparing the employee's average weekly wage to the state's average weekly wage. Benefits are calculated on a sliding scale, with lower-income employees generally receiving more of their usual wages compared to higher-income employees. Minimum and maximum weekly benefit amounts are based on the state average weekly wage. The state may increase the average weekly wage amount year over year. Employers should monitor the state website for updates in determining top-off calculations. California pays benefits based on calendar weeks not the employee's individual work schedule.

Use of Paid Time Off (PTO)/Employer Benefits

Employees can use accrued time off during their waiting periods and when receiving CASDI benefits, however, the pay from all sources should not exceed 100% of the employee's weekly salary.

Job Protection

CASDI does not provide job protection.

Other Protections

Employees using this benefit who may be considered disabled under other laws such as the federal Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA) or California's Fair Employment and Housing Act(FEHA), where protections are stricter than those under ADA, may have discrimination rights where an employee has taken or applied for Disability Insurance. Employers should review the other California laws to ensure they are applying any discrimination statues.

Benefits

CASDI does not provide benefit protections.

Interaction with Other Laws

Where an employee meets the definition of family member, qualifying absence reason, or serious health condition, the state and federal laws may interact.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

CASDI may run concurrently with FMLA. Elective procedures may be covered under FMLA but not automatically. In certain cases, FMLA will not run concurrent.

California Family Rights Act(CFRA)

CASDI may run concurrently with CFRA. Except where Pregnancy Disability Leave is available.

California Pregnancy Disability Leave (CAPDL)

CAPDL may run concurrently with CASDI.

California Domestic Violence Leave (CADOM)

CASDI may run concurrently with CADOM.

Unemployment Insurance

Employees may not receive unemployment benefits and CASDI benefits at the same time.¹

Worker's Compensation

Worker's compensation benefits may run concurrently with CASDI where the benefits being received by worker's compensation do not meet the thresholds of disability insurance payments an employee may top-off with CASDI benefits.²

Employee and Employer Responsibilities

Employee Responsibilities

Notify employer of event;
File claim with the EDD and respond to EDD directly with questions; and
Follow employer policies and procedures for time-off reporting.

Employer Responsibilities

Posting requirements are provided by the state and all posters must be a place that is conspicuous/frequented by employees:
- Provide required notices at time of hire and when an employee requests leave that may qualify for benefits;
- Posters must be posted if the employee is covered only by disability insurance, if covered also by unemployment insurance an additional poster requirement is mandated. Posters are available from the EDD website.
Determine any wage integrations and if employer would like to be on the approved wage integration list;
Respond to inquiries from the state;
Withhold deductions from payroll and label those deductions correctly; and
Set up an account to remit payroll contributions and to answer EDD correspondences.

Resources

California Legislation: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=2601.&lawCode=UIC

California Employment Development Department website: https://edd.ca.gov/en/disability/disability_insurance/ https://edd.ca.gov/en/disability/Employer_Voluntary_Plans/

California Fair Employment and Housing Act website: https://www.dor.ca.gov/Home/FairEmploymentAct

^{1 UIC 3303.1 (a)(1)}

^{2 UIC 2629(b)}

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