Jerry Brown signs bill expanding state family leave benefits

Jerry Brown signs bill expanding state family leave benefits

SACRAMENTO — California workers who need to take time off to care for a newborn or family member will receive up to 70 percent of their pay after Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill Monday to expand the benefit.

The bill’s author, Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez, D-Los Angeles, said many low-wage workers can’t afford to take advantage of the Paid Family Leave Program, which now provides 55 percent of a person’s pay for up to six weeks of leave, and the state disability insurance program, which provides 55 percent of pay for up to 52 weeks depending on the non-work-related injury.

Under AB908, workers making around minimum wage would be eligible for 70 percent of their pay while on paid family leave or on state disability, while other workers who earn more would be eligible for 60 percent of their pay, Gomez said.

Expanding the program will cost the state an additional $348 million in 2018 and $587 million by 2021, which would come out of the state’s Disability Insurance Fund, which is funded by employee payroll deductions.

Vivian Thorp of the Alameda County Homeless Action Center, who is now taking care of her ill mother, said the bill will help many people who find themselves in the unexpected position of caring for a loved one.