• California currently has legislation in place requiring paid family leave benefits coverage for California employees.

• Employees working in the state can receive up to eight weeks of paid leave annually for disability and family reasons.

On September 29, 2024, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 2123 into law, making additional changes to the state’s PFL program. The law will now eliminate an employer’s ability to require employees to use accrued vacation leave prior to accessing California’s PFL benefits. Previously, employers were able to require employees to take up to 2 weeks of accrued vacation days before using PFL benefits. Effective January 1, 2025, for any disability commencing on or after that date, this will no longer be the case. Although, employees can still decide to voluntarily use their vacation time first.