Maternity leave?
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Listen I did the short term disability but my doctor extended mine extra after my 6 weeks were up an extra two months and after that I’m taking baby bonding so my baby will be 5 months old when I go back to work which is fine with me because I need extra time with my baby
It’s 8 weeks of paid family leave, you can take 12 but only 8 weeks are paid by the state unless that’s changing in 2025. You get 4 weeks of disability pre childbirth but the first week is considered a waiting period and is not paid by the state. Then you get 6 weeks for vaginal birth or 8 weeks for C section.
Make sure to ask your employer about FMLA and CFRA (baby bonding) i’m projected to get seven months leave with six months of that being paid
Thanks for the info everyone!❤️ Trying to figure out all these stuff so I can get enough time with my baby. So the 4 weeks PDL before due date is “use it or lose it”? We need an OB note or something for that?
Super important to note… California’s paid family leave office is SUPER backed up right now. It has been resulting in an extensive amount of time to get paid family leave paid out. Example- my husband’s has already taken 6 weeks. When we went to the unemployment office to get some help, they can’t help you since it’s processed separately in a different department, there’s no office for it. So if money is a concern for anyone, make sure you make plans for this!
@Nicole yes, the 4 weeks before EDD are use it or lose it. My employer wanted a note from the OB. I don’t believe I needed anything for SDI but I could be wrong.
It is use or loose! You’ll need a note from your doctor when you apply for SDI - you give them your claim receipt number and they’re able to do everything on their end!
Also, like @Kelsey mentioned, there could be changes for 2025. I believe I saw that there were some planned but they were positive changes.
My midwife signed off on my disability at 34 weeks pregnant. My son was born a little over 41 weeks so my disability was already extended some. I had a natural birth so immediately got 6 weeks for having a natural birth. I had PPD so my therapist signed off on getting the full 17 1/3 weeks of pregnancy disability leave. If I needed to, I could have filed for SDI to extend it even further but I went back to work and proceeded to use 12 weeks of CFRA, 8 of those weeks were paid via Paid Family Leave. 4 of those weeks I used PTO I accrued. Then I left my company and started working for a company that allows me to work with baby I had a voluntary disability insurance I paid to at work which made it that a private insurance paid me instead of the state (Sedgwick for the win!). So my paychecks came immediately and I didn’t have to wait for the state
My son was a little over 7 months old and I basically had 7 months of leave. My husband and I alternated who worked so we were also home with the baby longer without needing daycare
My husband is still waiting on one payment from the state and can still use another week of paid family leave
I wish is would have known this. 😕 my obgyn only signed for the 6 weeks, wouldn't extend since I had a vaginal birth. I'm currently waiting on PFL.. now to read they are backed up.. this sucks. I had already waited for DI for a while month to receive something.
Hi Nicole! You can get more if you have issues following birth (trouble with lactation, PPD, PPA, etc.) - that can extend your SDI I think to 17 weeks! But if you have a pretty smooth delivery and recovery, 22 weeks is standard.