Paid family leave · California · 2026
California paid family leave for new parents (2026)
California pays up to 8 weeks of bonding leave for a new child in 2026, up to $1,765 a week. California pays about 70% to 90% of your weekly wage, depending on earnings (higher share for lower earners), capped at $1,765.
Key facts
| Program | Paid Family Leave (PFL), part of State Disability Insurance (SDI) |
|---|---|
| Status | paying benefits since 2004 |
| Bonding weeks for a new child | 8 |
| How the benefit is figured | California pays about 70% to 90% of your weekly wage, depending on earnings (higher share for lower earners) |
| Weekly maximum | $1,765 (minimum $50) |
| Job protection | No – PFL itself provides no job protection. Job protection comes from CFRA (private employers with 5+ employees; employee >12 months and 1,250 hours in prior 12 months; up to 12 weeks incl. bonding) or federal FMLA. |
| Employee payroll cost | SDI 1.3% of wages, no taxable wage ceiling (SB 951 removed it 1/1/2024) |
| Figures in effect | claims beginning on/after 2026-01-01 |
Extra pay for the birth parent
California’s disability insurance (State Disability Insurance – Disability Insurance (DI)) can also pay the birth parent while recovering: typically 4 weeks before the due date and 6 weeks after (or 8 after a C-section). Benefit: same 70-90% WBA schedule and $1,765 max as PFL (EDD quick statistics lists one SDI max). Sources: edd.ca.gov, edd.ca.gov.
Estimate your own benefit
Enter your pay in the baby budget calculator to see your estimated weekly benefit, the pay gap during leave and what child care costs in California after you go back. Child care prices: California infant care.
Sources: calcivilrights.ca.gov, edd.ca.gov, edd.ca.gov, edd.ca.gov.
Last verified October 5, 2026 against official sources: Paid Family Leave (PFL), part of State Disability Insurance (SDI).
Cite this page: This Mom, “California Paid Family Leave (2026)”, thismom.com/paid-family-leave/california/ (updated ). Data free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link to the page.