California Employees Who are Caring for a “Designated Person” Can Receive Paid Family Leave Benefits.

Under its Paid Family Leave (PFL) Program, California pays an eligible employee up to 8 weeks of partial wage replacement when that employee takes time off of work to care for a seriously ill family member, to bond with a new child, or assists with a qualifying military exigency. A family member is considered seriously ill if he or she suffers from an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that requires at-home care, in-patient care (i.e. hospital, hospice, or residential medical facility), or continuing treatment / continuing supervision by a health care provider. In addition, parents may take time off to bond with a new biological child, adopted child, or foster child. Under the old law, a family member was defined as a “child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner.” The PFL essentially paid employees who cared for or bonded with family members- legal family members (i.e. adoption, foster, or marriage) and biological family members. In the past, employers who hire employees have an idea of how big the employee’s family is and who the employees’ family members are, i.e., employees sometimes share that they have children and aging parents living nearby. Even day to day conversations around the office would reveal such very basic information about employees. As a result, employers could anticipate who an employee may take time off of work to care for. This predictability and familiarity is a thing of the past for most employers now.

This year, California has expanded its paid family leave and wage replacement laws again under its Paid Family Leave Program (SB 590). Starting on July 1, 2028, California’s PFL will have a broader definition of “family” by allowing for “designated persons” who are not legally or biologically related to the employee. Under the new law, a family member now includes a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, domestic partner, or designated person who has a serious health condition. The old law restricted the definition of a “family member” to the employee’s immediate family. Under the new law, a designated person is defined as “any care recipient related by blood or whose association with the individual is the equivalent of a family relationship.” This means that eligible employees can now be paid for up to 8 weeks of partial wage replacement when that employee takes time off of work to care for extended family (i.e. an aunt, uncle, cousin, etc.) and anyone who has a “family-like” relationship with the employee.

In addition, under the new law, the process for identifying the designated person is pretty straightforward. The new law simply requires the eligible employee to do the following:

1) identify the designated person,

2) attest under penalty of perjury that either of the following is true: how the employee is related by blood to the designated person or how the employee’s relationship with the designated person is the equivalent to a family relationship.

Thus, the new law now extends employee benefits to those who care for an identified “designated person” and simply attests that the designated person is a blood relative or has a family-like relationship with the employee. These employee benefits can now be paid for up to 8 weeks to employees who are willing to care for a “designated person.”

Employers need to be aware of this new law. In 2023, California has previously expanded the definition of family in the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) to include “designated persons” as well. Currently, the CFRA provides eligible employees with protected unpaid leave for up to 12 weeks for family care and medical leave. With the new law, California has now provided the same lax definition of “designated person” for the PFL which provides employees with a partially paid leave. Clearly, employees would have more incentive to take a partially paid leave over an unpaid leave. In theory, under the new PFL law, eligible employees could be paid to care for their neighbor or best friend who they consider to have a “family-like” relationship with the employee. Yes, the possibilities are wide open now. Employers need to be aware of this new law because it is far more permissive than the old law. It may even result in more people taking off of work to care for (literally) any person they please.