SECTIONS 3300-3306 - California Statutes

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE CODE

SECTION 3300-3306

3300. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) It is in the public benefit to provide family temporary
disability insurance benefits to workers to care for their family
members. The need for family temporary disability insurance benefits
has intensified as the participation of both parents in the workforce
has increased, and the number of single parents in the workforce has
grown. The need for partial wage replacement for workers taking
family care leave will be exacerbated as the population of those
needing care, both children and parents of workers, increases in
relation to the number of working age adults.
(b) Family Temporary Disability Insurance shall be known as Paid
Family Leave.
(c) Developing systems that help families adapt to the competing
interests of work and home not only benefits workers, but also
benefits employers by increasing worker productivity and reducing
employee turnover.
(d) The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and California'
s Family Rights Act (CFRA) entitle eligible employees working for
covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for up to 12
workweeks in a 12-month period. Under the FMLA and the CFRA, unpaid
leave may be taken for the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a
new child; to care for a seriously ill child, parent, or spouse; or
for the employee's own serious health condition.
(e) State disability insurance benefits currently provide wage
replacement for workers who need time off due to their own
non-work-related injuries, illnesses, or conditions, including
pregnancy, that prevent them from working, but do not cover leave to
care for a sick or injured child, spouse, parent, domestic partner,
or leave to bond with a new child.
(f) The majority of workers in this state are unable to take
family care leave because they are unable to afford leave without
pay. When workers do not receive some form of wage replacement during
family care leave, families suffer from the worker's loss of income,
increasing the demand on the state unemployment insurance system and
dependence on the state's welfare system.
(g) It is the intent of the Legislature to create a family
temporary disability insurance program to help reconcile the demands
of work and family. The family temporary disability insurance program
shall be a component of the state's unemployment compensation
disability insurance program, shall be funded through employee
contributions, and shall be administered in accordance with the
policies of the state disability insurance program created pursuant
to this part. Initial and ongoing administrative costs associated
with the family temporary disability insurance program shall be
payable from the Disability Fund.

3301. (a) (1) The purpose of this chapter is to establish, within
the state disability insurance program, a family temporary disability
insurance program. Family temporary disability insurance shall
provide up to six weeks of wage replacement benefits to workers who
take time off work to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, parent,
domestic partner, or to bond with a minor child within one year of
the birth or placement of the child in connection with foster care or
adoption.
(2) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to abridge the
rights and responsibilities conveyed under the CFRA or pregnancy
disability leave.
(b) An individual's "weekly benefit amount" shall be the amount
provided in Section 2655. An individual is eligible to receive family
temporary disability insurance benefits equal to one-seventh of his
or her weekly benefit amount for each full day during which he or she
is unable to work due to caring for a seriously ill or injured
family member or bonding with a minor child within one year of the
birth or placement of the child in connection with foster care or
adoption.
(c) The maximum amount payable to an individual during any
disability benefit period for family temporary disability insurance
shall be six times his or her "weekly benefit amount," but in no case
shall the total amount of benefits payable be more than the total
wages paid to the individual during his or her disability base
period. If the benefit is not a multiple of one dollar ($1), it shall
be computed to the next higher multiple of one dollar ($1).
(d) No more than six weeks of family temporary disability
insurance benefits shall be paid within any 12-month period.
(e) An individual shall file a claim for family temporary
disability insurance benefits not later than the 41st consecutive day
following the first compensable day with respect to which the claim
is made for benefits, which time shall be extended by the department
upon a showing of good cause. If a first claim is not complete, the
claim form shall be returned to the claimant for completion and it
shall be completed and returned not later than the 10th consecutive
day after the date it was mailed by the department to the claimant,
except that such time shall be extended by the department upon a
showing of good cause.

3302. For purposes of this part:
(a) "Care recipient" means the family member who is receiving care
for a serious health condition or the new child with whom the care
provider is bonding.
(b) "Care provider" means the family member who is providing the
required care for a serious health condition or the family member who
is bonding with the new child.
(c) "Child" means a biological, adopted, or foster son or
daughter, a stepson or stepdaughter, a legal ward, a son or daughter
of a domestic partner, or the person to whom the employee stands in
loco parentis.
(d) "Domestic partner" has the same meaning as defined in Section
297 of the Family Code.
(e) "Family care leave" means any of the following:
(1) Leave to bond with a minor child within the first year of the
child's birth or placement in connection with foster care or
adoption.
(2) Leave to care for a child, parent, spouse, or domestic partner
who has a serious health condition.
(f) "Family member" means child, parent, spouse, or domestic
partner as defined in this section.
(g) "Parent" means a biological, foster, or adoptive parent, a
stepparent, a legal guardian, or other person who stood in loco
parentis to the employee when the employee was a child.
(h) "Serious health condition" means an illness, injury,
impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves inpatient
care in a hospital, hospice, or residential health care facility, or
continuing treatment or continuing supervision by a health care
provider, as defined in Section 12945.2 of the Government Code.
(i) "Spouse" means a partner to a lawful marriage.
(j) "Valid claim" means any claim for family temporary disability
insurance benefits made in accordance with the provisions of this
code, and any rules and regulations adopted thereunder, if the
individual claiming benefits is unemployed and has been paid the
necessary wages in employment for employers to qualify for benefits
under Section 2652 and is caring for a seriously ill family member,
or bonding with a minor child during the first year after the birth
or placement of the child in connection with foster care or adoption.
(k) "Twelve-month period," with respect to any individual, means
the 365 consecutive days that begin with the first day the individual
first establishes a valid claim for family temporary disability
benefits.

3302.1. For purposes of this chapter:
(a) "Disability benefit period" with respect to any individual,
means the period of unemployment beginning with the first day an
individual establishes a valid claim for family temporary disability
insurance benefits to care for a seriously ill family member, or to
bond with a minor child during the first year after the birth or
placement of the child in connection with foster care or adoption.
(b) Periods of family care leave for the same care recipient
within a 12-month period shall be considered one disability benefit
period.
(c) Periods of disability for pregnancy, as defined in Section
2608, and periods of family care leave for bonding associated with
the birth of that child shall be considered one disability benefit
period.

3303. An individual shall be deemed eligible for family temporary
disability insurance benefits equal to one-seventh of his or her
weekly benefit amount on any day in which he or she is unable to
perform his or her regular or customary work because he or she is
bonding with a minor child during the first year after the birth or
placement of the child in connection with foster care or adoption or
caring for a seriously ill child, parent, spouse, or domestic
partner, only if the director finds all of the following:
(a) The individual has made a claim for temporary disability
benefits as required by authorized regulations.
(b) The individual has been unable to perform his or her regular
or customary work for a seven-day waiting period during each
disability benefit period, with respect to which waiting period no
family temporary disability insurance benefits are payable.
(c) The individual has filed a certificate, as required by
Sections 2708 and 2709.

3303.1. (a) An individual is not eligible for family temporary
disability insurance benefits with respect to any day that any of the
following apply:
(1) The individual has received, or is entitled to receive,
unemployment compensation benefits under Part 1 (commencing with
Section 100) or under an unemployment compensation act of any other
state or of the federal government.
(2) The individual has received, or is entitled to receive, "other
benefits" in the form of cash benefits as defined in Section 2629.
(3) The individual has received, or is entitled to receive, state
disability insurance benefits under Part 2 (commencing with Section
2601) or under a disability insurance act of any other state.
(4) Another family member, as defined in Section 3302, is ready,
willing, and able and available for the same period of time in a day
that the individual is providing the required care.
(b) An individual who is entitled to leave under the FMLA and the
CFRA must take Family Temporary Disability Insurance (FTDI) leave
concurrent with leave taken under the FMLA and the CFRA.
(c) As a condition of an employee's initial receipt of family
temporary disability insurance benefits during any 12-month period in
which an employee is eligible for these benefits, an employer may
require an employee to take up to two weeks of earned but unused
vacation leave prior to the employee's initial receipt of these
benefits. If an employer so requires an employee to take vacation
leave, that portion of the vacation leave that does not exceed one
week shall be applied to the waiting period required under
subdivision (b) of Section 3303. This subdivision may not be
construed in a manner that relieves an employer of any duty of
collective bargaining the employer may have with respect to the
subject matter of this subdivision.

3304. Eligible workers shall receive benefits in accordance with
provisions established under this division.

3305. If the director finds that any individual falsely certifies
the medical condition of any person in order to obtain family
temporary disability insurance benefits, with the intent to defraud,
whether for the maker or for any other person, the director shall
assess a penalty against the individual in the amount of 25 percent
of the benefits paid as a result of the false certification. The
provisions of Article 8 (commencing with Section 1126) of Chapter 4
of Part 1, with respect to assessments, the provisions of Article 9
(commencing with Section 1176) of Chapter 4 of Part 1, with respect
to refunds, and the provisions of Chapter 7 (commencing with Section
1701) of Part 1, with respect to collections, shall apply to the
assessments provided by this section. Penalties collected under this
section shall be deposited in the contingent fund.

3306. (a) The director may request additional medical evidence to
supplement the first or any continued claim if the additional
evidence can be procured without additional cost to the care
recipient. The director may require that the additional evidence
include any or all of the following information:
(1) Identification of diagnoses.
(2) Identification of symptoms.
(3) A statement setting forth the facts of the care recipient's
serious health condition that warrants the participation of the
employee. The statement shall be completed by any of the following
people:
(A) The physician or practitioner treating the care recipient.
(B) The registrar, authorized medical officer, or other duly
authorized official of the hospital or health facility treating the
care recipient.
(C) An examining physician or other representative of the
department.
(b) Except as provided in Section 2709, the director may require
the care recipient to submit to reasonable examinations for the
purpose of determining all of the following:
(1) Whether a serious health condition exists.
(2) Whether a care provider's participation is warranted.
(3) The period of time that the care provider's participation is
warranted.