Hey Malik! Congratulations on your upcoming arrival! 🎉 I just went through this exact situation with my husband who's also a 1099 contractor. He successfully got his 8 weeks of PFL for baby bonding last year. Since your husband has been paying into SDI for 2 years, he should definitely qualify! A few things that made our process smoother: **Application timing**: File the claim as soon as possible after your baby is born, but within 41 days of when he starts his first week of leave. Don't wait! **Income documentation**: Have him pull together his last 4-6 quarters of income records now - 1099s, bank statements, invoices. EDD will want to see a clear picture of his earnings pattern. **The "completely offline" rule**: This was the hardest part for my husband! During his PFL weeks, he couldn't do ANY work - no emails, calls, nothing that generates income. We learned this the hard way when EDD questioned some client communication during his first claimed week. **Weekly benefit amount**: It'll be roughly 60-70% of his average weekly wage from his highest-earning quarter in the past 18 months, capped at the state maximum. One last tip: if he's planning to split the 8 weeks, map out those specific dates now and give clients plenty of advance notice. We found 8-10 weeks heads up worked well for maintaining good relationships. Feel free to ask if you have other questions - happy to help a fellow parent navigate this maze! The benefits are absolutely worth the paperwork hassle.

Hey Malik! Congrats on your upcoming baby! 🍼 I went through this same situation as a 1099 contractor last year and wanted to share a few additional tips that really helped us: **Pre-baby checklist**: Start gathering documents NOW - not just tax forms, but also quarterly estimated tax payment records showing your husband's SDI contributions. EDD sometimes wants to see proof he was actually paying in consistently. **Client transition strategy**: Beyond just giving advance notice, consider creating simple handoff documents for each major client - contact info for backup resources, project status summaries, etc. This made my clients feel much more comfortable and actually strengthened relationships. **EDD portal setup**: Have your husband create his EDD online account before the baby arrives. The website can be glitchy when you're sleep-deprived and stressed, so getting familiar with it beforehand is super helpful. **Payment timing**: First payments usually take 2-3 weeks after filing, so budget accordingly. We were glad we planned for that gap financially. Your husband should definitely qualify for the full 8 weeks of PFL since he's been paying in for 2 years. The intermittent approach works great for maintaining client relationships - just make sure each chunk is at least a full week and all documentation is crystal clear about work vs. non-work periods. You're smart to plan ahead! Feel free to ask if you have specific questions about the application process.

Reading through all these responses has been so helpful! I'm currently 6 weeks postpartum and in almost the exact same situation - toxic workplace that I'm dreading returning to after my leave ends. What I'm gathering from everyone's experiences is that the key distinction is between disability (where you're certified unable to work) and PFL baby bonding time (where you can actively job search without issues). @Miguel Alvarez and @Sofia Martinez really clarified this for me. I'm planning to wait until I transition to PFL before starting my job search, but it's reassuring to know that so many others have successfully navigated this transition. The timeline that @Yara Khoury shared sounds ideal - use the PFL period for job searching, give notice a couple weeks before leave ends, and start the new job shortly after. One thing I'm curious about - has anyone here had to deal with their employer trying to "win them back" when they gave notice they weren't returning? My company has a history of making counter-offers or promises about improving conditions when people try to leave. I'm worried they might try to guilt me about taking maternity leave and then not coming back, even though I know legally I'm protected. Also want to echo what others have said about the anxiety of job searching during what should be precious bonding time. It's such a mental load on top of everything else new parents are dealing with! But ultimately creating a better future for our families is worth the temporary stress. Thanks to everyone who shared their stories - it's giving me the confidence to move forward with this plan! 💪

As someone who just went through this exact situation 6 months ago, I want to reassure you that what you're considering is completely normal and legal! I was also in a toxic work environment and made the decision not to return after my maternity leave. Here's what I learned: You can absolutely job search during your PFL period (the baby bonding portion). The key is waiting until you're no longer on pregnancy disability and have transitioned to PFL. During disability, you're certified as unable to work due to your medical condition. But during PFL, you're taking time to bond with your baby - there's no restriction on looking for future employment opportunities. I started my job search around 10 weeks postpartum when I felt more mentally ready to handle interviews alongside caring for my newborn. I was upfront with potential employers about my availability date and most were very understanding. I ended my PFL claim early when I accepted a position and started my new job about 2 weeks after my leave officially ended. The relief of not having to return to that stressful environment was incredible, and it actually made me a better parent because I wasn't constantly anxious about work. Don't feel guilty about using this time to secure a better future for your family - that's exactly what these benefits are meant to help you do! Make sure to keep good documentation of everything and follow proper procedures for ending your benefits when you start your new position. You've got this! 💕

Hey Mei! I'm a new member here but had to jump in because I literally just went through this exact situation 3 months ago! I had pregnancy-induced hypertension starting at 35 weeks, ended up on early disability, then had postpartum complications that extended my disability to 11 weeks total. I was absolutely panicking about losing my PFL time, but everyone here is 100% correct - you get your FULL 8 weeks of baby bonding leave after your disability ends, no matter how long the disability lasts! They're completely separate programs. The thing that stressed me out the most was all the conflicting information I got from different sources. Even some EDD phone reps seemed confused about how it works. But the law is crystal clear - medical recovery time doesn't count against bonding time at all. My biggest advice: start a file folder NOW with copies of everything you submit, and don't be afraid to call EDD multiple times if you get conflicting information. I had to call 3 different times before I found a rep who actually understood the programs correctly! Also, your proactive approach is exactly right. I wish I had researched this stuff early like you're doing instead of scrambling to figure it out while dealing with a newborn. You're going to navigate this beautifully! 💪

Hi Mei! I just wanted to add my experience to this incredibly helpful thread. I went through almost the exact same situation about 6 months ago - developed gestational hypertension at 36 weeks, went on early disability, then had a c-section with infection complications that extended my total disability time to about 13 weeks. I was absolutely terrified that the extension would somehow eat into my PFL time because my employer's HR person kept making comments about "combined leave limits" (which turned out to be completely wrong!). But I got every single day of my 8 weeks of baby bonding leave after my disability ended! What really helped me was understanding that California specifically designed these programs to be separate so that medical complications wouldn't penalize parents by reducing their bonding time with their babies. It's actually a really parent-friendly system once you understand how it works. One practical tip that saved me stress: I created a simple spreadsheet tracking my disability periods, extension dates, and when to file my PFL claim. Having it all laid out visually made me feel so much more in control during an already overwhelming time. Also, don't let anyone make you feel guilty about taking the full medical time you need. Recovery is recovery, and bonding time is bonding time - they serve completely different purposes and you're entitled to both! You're being so smart to research this ahead of time. Wishing you a smooth rest of your pregnancy and delivery! 💕

This entire thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm in a very similar situation - took 5 weeks of bonding leave when my son was born in January, returned to work for a major client presentation, and now want to use my remaining 3 weeks before his first birthday. Based on all the success stories shared here, I'm going to call 1-877-238-4373 tomorrow morning at exactly 8:05 AM with my claim number and documents ready. It's so reassuring to hear from multiple people that this actually works without needing to file a new claim. @Victoria Jones @Jacinda Yu @Alejandro Castro your detailed experiences have been invaluable! One thing I'm curious about - for those who successfully reactivated and then took their remaining time in multiple chunks, did you need to call EDD each time you wanted to start a new period of leave, or were you able to set up multiple future periods during your initial reactivation call? I'm hoping to potentially split my remaining 3 weeks into a 2-week period in August and then a 1-week period in October, depending on my work schedule.

This whole thread has been a lifesaver! I'm dealing with the exact same situation - took 4 weeks of bonding leave when my daughter was born in April, had to go back for a product launch, and now I want to use my remaining 4 weeks before her first birthday. Reading everyone's detailed experiences gives me so much confidence that I can actually make this work. I'm definitely going to call 1-877-238-4373 tomorrow at 8:05 AM with my claim number and all my documents organized. @Victoria Jones @Jacinda Yu @Alejandro Castro thank you all for sharing such specific details about your calls - it's incredibly helpful to know this process actually works! One quick question for anyone who's done this - when you reactivated your claim, did the agent ask for any additional documentation beyond your claim number and basic verification info, or was it pretty straightforward once they had your original claim details? I want to make sure I have absolutely everything ready before I call tomorrow morning!

I'm going through this exact same situation right now and feeling so relieved to find this thread! I was on pregnancy disability from August through October 2024, then PFL for baby bonding from November through January 2025. Like everyone else, I had no clue about the tax withholding option when applying - I was just trying to survive pregnancy complications and then adjusting to life with a newborn. The advice here has been incredibly helpful, especially understanding that the two 1099-G forms need to be reported separately and that both benefits are federally taxable but CA exempt. I'm definitely dreading the tax bill since I didn't elect withholding, but at least now I know what to expect based on everyone's experiences with owing around 12-15%. One thing I'm curious about - for those who used TurboTax, did it automatically categorize the EDD benefits correctly or did you have to manually select specific categories? I want to make sure I don't accidentally mark something wrong and create problems later. Also really encouraging to hear about the potential credits with having a new baby and lower income from leave. Every little bit helps when you're facing an unexpected tax bill! Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences - this community is such a lifesaver when EDD provides zero guidance on any of this stuff.

I'm going through this exact same situation and this thread has been such a lifesaver! I was on pregnancy disability from July through September 2024, then transitioned to PFL for baby bonding through December. Like so many others here, I had no idea about the tax withholding option when I applied - I was just focused on getting through the application while dealing with morning sickness and then recovery. Reading everyone's experiences has really helped me understand that I need to report my two 1099-G forms separately and that both benefits are federally taxable but CA state exempt. The 12-15% federal tax estimates people are sharing are actually really helpful for planning, even though it's scary to think about owing that much when we're already adjusting our budget for a new baby. I'm planning to use TurboTax based on all the positive feedback here about how it handles EDD benefits correctly. And I'm definitely going to look into those tax credits everyone mentioned - it's encouraging to know that having lower income from leave and a new baby might actually help us qualify for credits that could offset some of the tax liability. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences! It's so frustrating that EDD doesn't provide any guidance on the tax implications when you're applying, especially when you're already overwhelmed with everything else that comes with having a baby.