Short-term disability benefits replace wages lost from being unable to work due to an injury or illness. According to the federal government, less than half of civilian workers have coverage under short-term disability insurance provided by their employers.
Non-government workers in California benefit from short-term disability insurance coverage through a state-mandated program. If you have coverage through the California program, you may wonder about the availability of short term disability maternity leave benefits. Here is an explanation of the short-term disability and maternity leave programs to help you access the benefits available to you.
California Short-term Disability Insurance
The California Short-term Disability Insurance (CASDI or SDI) program provides wage-replacement benefits when you cannot work due to the following:
- Illness or injury that is not work-related.
- Pregnancy and childbirth.
- Elective and non-elective surgery.
- Drug or alcohol rehabilitation.
You can receive SDI benefits equal to a portion of the wages you earned before the date you became unable to work. The maximum benefit period is 52 weeks.
A healthcare professional must certify that you have a disability that prevents you from working. The inability to work must be for more than eight days, and you must have lost wages as a result of the disability.
Pregnancy And Short-Term Disability Benefits
To file a claim for short-term disability for pregnancy, a licensed healthcare provider must certify that you cannot work because of the pregnancy or a pregnancy-related disabling condition. You also may claim benefits post-delivery, provided your medical professional certifies that you are unable to work.
If a healthcare provider certifies that you are unable to work, pregnancy disability insurance benefits generally last up to 12 weeks. Some of the factors that determine how long benefits last include:
- Pregnancy without medical complications: Benefits may be available for up to four weeks before the projected delivery date and up to six weeks after the delivery.
- Delivery by cesarean section: Benefits may be available for as long as four weeks before and as long as eight weeks after delivery.
- Pregnancy with medical complications: Benefits may be available for longer periods when a licensed healthcare professional certifies the presence of medical complications or that a person cannot perform their regular work activities.
Factors your healthcare provider may take into consideration to certify you as disabled include age, medical history, type of work, and pregnancy history.
The amount of your short term disability pay depends on your annual income. You could receive SDI of from 70% to 90% of your wages earned during a base period. To be covered under the California State Disability Insurance program, you must have paid into it through payroll deductions, which appear on paystubs as “CASDI.”
California Family Rights Act
The California Family Rights Act (CFRA) provides job protection to workers who must take time off because of pregnancy. The law provides workers with the ability to take 12 weeks off during a 12-month period for any of the following reasons:
- A serious health condition affecting the worker.
- A serious health condition affecting a worker’s family, including spouse or domestic partner, child, parent, sibling, and other family members.
- The birth or adoption of a child, or becoming a foster parent.
Unlike the California State Disability Insurance program, the CFRA does not provide maternity leave benefits. Instead, it provides unpaid leave and job protection. If you take maternity leave under the CFRA, your employer must reinstate you to the same or a comparable position as the one you held prior to taking leave.
How Does Pregnancy Disability Work With CFRA?
A pregnant worker may be entitled to both pregnancy disability leave and leave under the CFRA. The claim for pregnancy disability can be filed as soon as a physician or other licensed medical practitioner certifies that a person cannot work because of disability related to pregnancy.
Claims for family leave under the CFRA can be filed once a person recovers from the pregnancy-related disability. A physician or licensed healthcare provider needs to certify that the individual has recovered sufficiently to resume their work-related activities.
The claim for disability benefits from a pregnancy-related health condition cannot be file until the claimant loses wages from having stopped working. You may be able to file the claim sooner when a healthcare professional certifies that a pregnancy-related medical condition causes you to be unable to work more than four weeks before your expected due date.
Contact A Northern California Short-Term Disability Lawyer
The disability benefits professionals at Sackett and Associates have been helping people throughout Northern California and nationally for more than 45 years to obtain disability benefits. Whether you need assistance with short-term disability related to pregnancy or have questions about long-term disability benefits through the Social Security Administration, contact Sackett Law today for a free consultation and claim evaluation.
Sources:
- Percentage of workers covered by short-term disability: https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/wb/wb20241121
- California short-term disability
- https://edd.ca.gov/en/disability/Am_I_Eligible_for_DI_Benefits/
- https://edd.ca.gov/en/disability/faq_di_pregnancy
- https://edd.ca.gov/en/Disability/Calculating_DI_Benefit_Payment_Amounts
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