50% reduced wage from employer during family leave - still eligible for EDD PFL benefits?

Yes! Your husband can absolutely apply for PFL to supplement the 50% his employer is paying. California PFL pays approximately 60-70% of wages (depending on income level), but since he's already getting 50% from work, the EDD will calculate the difference. He needs to accurately report the employer's wage continuation on his PFL claim form (DE2508). They'll adjust his benefit amount accordingly. This is actually pretty common with larger employers who offer partial paid leave!

Oh thank you so much! That's a huge relief. So he needs to make sure he reports that 50% from his job on the DE2508 form specifically? Is there a certain section where he needs to list this?

My wifes company did this exact same thing last year!!! They gave her 60% pay and then EDD gave her the rest (not the full 40% but i think it was like 20% more or something). You definitely need to apply asap bcuz the paperwork takes FOREVER to process. Make sure he puts the exact amount hes getting from work or they'll deny the claim.

Just to clarify - EDD won't give

I went through this last year and the whole process was a nightmare!!!! EDD kept putting my claim on pending for WEEKS because they needed to verify my employer's partial pay. I called literally 50+ times and never got through. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an EDD rep in like 20 minutes and they fixed everything. They have this video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/DOLxZQb92wM?si=6N1iCQ3a8Cdb2Ay5 \n\nI wasted like 3 weeks trying before that. Just make sure your husband reports exactly what his employer is paying - if the numbers don't match what his employer reports, it'll cause major delays.

Thank you for the tip! I've been worried about this exact scenario happening. Three weeks without proper benefits would be really tough for us right now. I'll check out that link if we run into problems getting through to EDD.

I don't think u can get both???? My cousin tried to do this and got denied because his company was already paying him during leave. EDD said something about no double dipping. But maybe it depends on how much ur getting paid already?

This is a common misunderstanding. Your cousin may have been receiving 100% wage replacement from his employer, in which case EDD would deny benefits. However, when someone receives PARTIAL wage replacement (like 50% in this case), they can absolutely receive a reduced PFL benefit to supplement it. It's not considered double dipping because the total never exceeds what they'd normally receive from EDD. I've helped dozens of clients navigate this exact situation.

THE ENTIRE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO CONFUSE US!!! I bet his HR people don't even know how it works! My employer tried to tell me the same garbage and I almost didn't apply. Then I read the actual EDD guidelines and found out they were WRONG. Apply immediately and make sure to check

While I understand your frustration, I wouldn't assume the HR department is intentionally misleading anyone. PFL integration with employer benefits is genuinely complex, and many HR professionals don't deal with it regularly enough to be experts. It's always good to verify directly with EDD, but let's not attribute to malice what might just be confusion about a complicated system.

Make sure ur husband files his claim ON THE FIRST DAY of his leave! I waited a week and they wouldn't backdate it so I lost a week of benefits. Also take screenshots of EVERYTHING and write down who u talk to at EDD. The whole system is so unreliable rn.

Thank you everyone for all this helpful information! I'm going to have my husband submit his claim this week (he starts leave next Monday) and make sure he clearly documents the 50% wage continuation from his employer. I'll update here if we run into any issues with the process. Fingers crossed it goes smoothly!

That's a good plan. One additional tip: have him ask his employer for documentation of the partial wage replacement policy to submit with his claim. This can help prevent delays in processing. EDD may request verification from the employer anyway, but having documentation upfront can speed things up. Best of luck with your new little one!

When I had my baby last year, my company gave me 40% pay during leave and I got another 30% from EDD PFL. The key thing is reporting correctly. There's a specific question on the application about other income during leave - he needs to report the employer payments there. Make sure he answers YES to that question, then provides the exact amount his employer will pay. If the payment varies by week, he should indicate that too. It took about 10 days to process my claim once I submitted everything correctly.

Just wanted to add that timing is really important here! Your husband should file his PFL claim during his first week of leave, not before. EDD requires that you're actually on leave when you file. Also, make sure he keeps all his pay stubs from the partial employer payments - EDD sometimes requests these as verification later in the process. The good news is that once it's set up correctly, the payments usually come pretty regularly. My experience was similar to others here - got about 25% additional from EDD on top of the 60% my employer was paying. Congratulations on your new baby and hope the process goes smoothly for you both!

Just wanted to share my recent experience since I went through this exact situation 6 months ago! My employer paid 60% during my bonding leave and I successfully received PFL benefits for the remaining portion. The key things that helped me: 1) I called EDD before filing to confirm I was eligible (took forever to get through but worth it), 2) I got a letter from my HR department stating exactly how much they'd pay me weekly during leave, and 3) I filed my claim on day 1 of my leave, not before. The whole process took about 2 weeks to get my first payment once approved. One thing nobody mentioned - if your husband's employer uses a third-party payroll company, make sure the wage reporting matches between what his employer reports to EDD and what he reports on his claim. Mine got delayed because of a mismatch there. Good luck!