AB 2123 Ends California Employers’ Right to Require PTO Before Accessing Paid Family Leave Benefits

AB 2123 Ends California Employers’ Right to Require PTO Before Accessing Paid Family Leave Benefits

Recently, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 2123, which will take effect on January 1, 2025. This bill will abolish employers’ ability to require their employees to use their accrued vacation leave before accessing California’s Paid Family Leave Program (“PFL”) insurance benefits.

As the holiday season approaches, a time that emphasizes the importance of familial bonds, California workers are preparing to close out the remainder of the year with their relatives. And now, with the enactment of AB 2123, once they cross the threshold and enter 2025, they will be equipped with greater power to spend time with and care for their loved ones.

PFL Background

Signed into law in 2002, PFL – also known as the Family Temporary Disability Insurance Program (“FTDI”) – is a state-run program that provides unemployment disability compensation benefits to workers taking time off to care for a seriously ill relative or domestic partner, bond with a new minor child, or assist a military family member under active duty. PFL is administered by the State Disability Insurance Program (“SDI”) of the Employment Development Department (“EDD”), and it is codified in California Unemployment Insurance Code (“UIC”) sections 3301-3303.

AB 2123’s Changes to PFL

AB 2123 amends UIC section 3303.1 as it relates to paid family leave. Previously, the text of UIC section 3303.1 explicitly permitted employers to force employees to take up to two weeks of earned but unused vacation as a prerequisite for acquiring PFL benefits. Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22 § 3301(c)(1). Now, however, with the passage of AB 2123, employers will no longer be able to do so, as of January 1, 2025. AB 2123.

Effect for Workers

Beginning on January 1, 2025, California employers will no longer be able to require employees who need to take time off to care for a seriously ill family member or domestic partner, bond with a new minor child, or assist a military family member under active duty to use up to two weeks of accrued vacation before being able to access their PFL benefits.  Thus, because of AB 2123, California workers will be further empowered to fulfill their family obligations without undue interference from their employers.

If an employer tries to interfere with your ability to take leave, please contact Bryan Schwartz Law, P.C.