California's Paid Family Leave (PFL) insurance program provides up to eight weeks of wage replacement when an employee takes time off for child bonding or to care for a seriously ill family member. The amount of PFL benefits an employee can receive is approximately 70 to 90 percent of earnings, depending on the employee's income. There is a maximum weekly-benefit limit on the amount received.
While disabled by pregnancy, your employee could apply for State Disability Insurance benefits (SDI). After they're no longer disabled by pregnancy and childbirth, they can apply for PFL for child bonding. They cannot receive PFL at the same time they're receiving SDI benefits. But as long as they're no longer disabled and not receiving SDI, they should be able to collect PFL for the first eight weeks of their child bonding leave.
Unlike SDI, which has a 7-day, non-payable waiting period, PFL doesn't have a waiting period before benefits are paid.
Read more about PFL Qualifying Events in the HR Library.