Disability compensation: paid family leave.

Existing law establishes, within the state disability insurance program, a family temporary disability insurance program, also known as the paid family leave program, for the provision of wage replacement benefits to workers who take time off work to care for a seriously ill family member or to bond with a minor child within one year of birth or placement, as specified. Existing law, before January 1, 2018, deemed an individual to be eligible for family temporary disability benefits if, among other things, the individual was unable to perform his or her regular or customary work for a 7-day waiting period during each disability benefit period, and prohibited payments for benefits during this waiting period. Existing law, on and after January 1, 2018, removes the 7-day waiting period for these benefits. Existing law authorizes an employer to require an employee to take up to 2 weeks of earned but unused vacation before, and as a condition of, the employee's initial receipt of these benefits during any 12-month period in which the employee is eligible for these benefits. Existing law specifies that if an employer so requires an employee to take vacation leave, that portion of the vacation leave that does not exceed one week is to be applied to the waiting period. This bill would delete that application of vacation leave to the waiting period, consistent with the removal of the 7-day waiting period for these benefits on and after January 1, 2018.