The component is not available at this moment. Please contact the site administrator.
Because SDI benefits do not entirely replace lost wages during a covered absence, employees may ask to supplement SDI benefits in other ways. This section guides you through coordinating SDI with other sources of income.
This topic contains the following information:
SDI partially compensates loss of earnings due to sickness and injury not covered by workers’ compensation. However, employees receiving workers’ compensation can qualify for some disability insurance payments if the workers’ compensation payments fall below the payments they could receive from SDI. Employees can receive the difference between workers’ compensation payments and disability insurance payments from the SDI program.1
A person may be eligible for interim SDI benefits if you or your workers’ compensation insurance carrier denies or delays workers’ compensation payments. If an employee receives SDI benefits while a workers’ compensation case is pending, the EDD will file a lien to recover those benefits if the workers’ compensation claim is resolved in the employee’s favor.
If a person receives UI benefits from the federal government or any state, they cannot also receive SDI for the same period. If the EDD determines that a person applying for SDI has a right to UI payments, it will deny SDI benefits.2 Failure to apply for or collect UI benefits does not ensure eligibility for SDI.
Disabilities arising from pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions are classified the same as any other temporary disability for purposes of SDI. The usual disability period for a normal pregnancy is up to four weeks before the expected delivery date and up to six weeks after the actual delivery.
A woman’s physician may certify that she is disabled for a longer period before or after the expected delivery if the delivery is a cesarean section, if medical complications exist, or if she is unable to perform her regular or customary job duties.
In determining if SDI benefits will extend beyond the usual disability period for a normal pregnancy, the EDD will assess all factors, including the employee’s:
A pregnant employee may also be entitled to up to four months of protected leave, known as Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL), for her pregnancy, childbirth and/or related medical conditions. More information on your duties under California’s pregnancy disability leave laws can be found in Pregnancy Disability Leave. Employees eligible for PDL or PDL running concurrently with FMLA can receive SDI payments during the period of PDL disability. After the employee is no longer disabled, both the protected leave and SDI benefits end.
For further information on how SDI can interact with PDL and FMLA, use our Leave Interaction Wizard.
An employee absent for their own disability that is not related to pregnancy or a work-related illness or injury may also be eligible for FMLA/CFRA leave (see Family and Medical Leave). The employee eligible for SDI benefits could receive those benefits during the FMLA/CFRA leave and up to an additional 40 weeks of SDI benefits beyond the right to the protected leave. The actual amount of time the employee can draw SDI benefits depends on their earnings in the base period before the disability began.
Payments from federal and state liability programs, such as the federal Employers Liability Act and the Longshoremen and Harbor Workers Act, may also reduce SDI benefit payments.3
Vacation is not considered a form of wage replacement for the purpose of SDI benefits. You may be able to require or allow employees to use vacation while they receive SDI benefits or to supplement SDI benefits, depending on the type of protected leave the employee is on.
Paid sick leave and PTO are a form of wage replacement for SDI benefit purposes. An employee cannot receive more money than they would normally make if at work. Thus, an employee cannot receive SDI benefits for any period for which the employee also receives sick leave or PTO wages equivalent to their full salary. You may, however, require or allow an employee to use sick pay or PTO during the seven-day waiting period for SDI benefits to begin, depending on the type of protected leave the employee is on. After the employee begins receiving SDI benefits, you may also be able to require or allow them to use partial sick pay or PTO to supplement the SDI benefits. You must coordinate this type of payment with EDD. It is your responsibility to ensure that the employee is not receiving more than 100 percent of their normal gross wages when receiving integrated/coordinated wages from you in conjunction with the SDI amount.
If the employee takes leave under FMLA or CFRA and receives any type of disability benefits, including SDI benefits, you cannot require the employee to use paid sick leave, vacation or other PTO during the FMLA/CFRA leave. For more information, see Pay and Benefits During Medical Leave. However, employers and employees may agree to have paid leave supplement the disability plan benefits, such as in the case where a plan only provides replacement income for two-thirds of an employee’s salary.4
You may require the employee on PDL or PDL/FMLA to use sick leave if the leave is unpaid but you cannot require the employee to use vacation or other PTO during the leave.
An employee who is collecting SDI does not necessarily have a right to continued paid health insurance or other benefits during a leave.
1. UI Code sec. 2629
2. UI Code sec. 2628
3. UI Code sec. 2629
4. 29 CFR 825.207