Can I apply for SDI after employer-paid maternity leave ends or should I apply during final weeks?

You're mixing things up. SDI is for pregnancy disability BEFORE birth and right after. PFL is for baby bonding. You can't get SDI after your employer paid leave if that's already covering you for recovery time. Most company policies run concurrent with state benefits not after!!!!

The previous commenter is partially correct, but let me clarify. SDI (State Disability Insurance) covers pregnancy disability leave - typically up to 4 weeks before birth and 6-8 weeks after birth depending on delivery type. PFL (Paid Family Leave) is for baby bonding and can provide up to 8 weeks of benefits. The important thing to understand is that most employer-paid leaves run CONCURRENTLY with state benefits, not consecutively. This means you should apply for SDI/PFL at the beginning of your leave, and your employer will likely supplement the state benefits to give you 100% of your pay. If you wait until after your employer benefits end, you'll be too late to claim SDI for pregnancy disability. You need to file your claim within 49 days of becoming disabled (when your doctor certifies your pregnancy disability).

Thank you for explaining! But I'm still confused—my HR packet says our company policy is separate from state benefits (not supplemental). They specifically told me I get my full salary regardless of what CA gives me. Does that change things?

when i had my baby last year my company had a similar policy and i almost missed out completely!! you need to apply for SDI as soon as your doctor certifies your pregnancy disability (usually 36 weeks) even if your employer is paying you. the SDI claim starts your benefit clock and then after recovery period you transition to PFL for bonding time. dont wait til your company leave ends or you'll be way too late!!! i know because i almost made this mistake and an hr person caught it for me just in time

I work with many maternity cases, and here's what you need to know: You must file your SDI claim within 49 days of your doctor-certified disability start date, regardless of employer benefits. Even if your employer pays 100% salary, you should still file for state benefits. Here's why: 1. Your state benefits timeline starts when your doctor certifies disability, not when employer pay ends 2. Some companies require you to file for state benefits (they may be coordinating benefits behind the scenes) 3. This preserves your maximum benefit eligibility File your DE2501 form as soon as your doctor certifies your disability (usually around 36 weeks). Then after your post-partum recovery period, you'll transition to PFL for bonding time by filing the DE2508 form.

Calling EDD to clarify this would be your best bet rather than guessing. I had the exact same question last year and spent 3 days trying to get through to someone at EDD to explain my specific situation. Kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Finally I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) which got me connected to an EDD rep in about 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/DOLxZQb92wM?si=6N1iCQ3a8Cdb2Ay5. The EDD representative walked me through exactly how to file while receiving employer benefits. Worth it to get the exact answer for your specific situation straight from EDD instead of risking missing out on benefits you're entitled to.

make sure u ask ur HR if they file the claim for u! my company has a 3rd party that does all our leave stuff and they submitted my SDI paperwork so i didnt have to do anything except sign some forms. also double check if ur company does whats called "vacation supplementation" where they use ur PTO to make up the difference between state benefits and ur full salary

To summarize the advice here: 1. File for SDI as soon as your doctor certifies your pregnancy disability (usually around 36 weeks) 2. After recovery period (6-8 weeks postpartum), transition to PFL for baby bonding 3. Clarify with your HR whether they: - File claims on your behalf - Require you to file state claims even while receiving company pay - Coordinate benefits to supplement state pay or run completely separate 4. Understand that the 49-day filing deadline for SDI is based on disability start date, not when employer pay ends Don't miss out on benefits you're entitled to because of confusion about timing. When in doubt, file within the required timeframe - you can always sort out coordination of benefits later.

Just went through this exact situation 6 months ago! I was so stressed about the timing too. Here's what I learned: even though my company paid 100% salary for 16 weeks, I still had to file for SDI when my doctor certified my disability at 36 weeks pregnant. The key thing is that SDI has that 49-day deadline from your disability start date - it doesn't matter what your employer is doing. My company's benefits actually ran concurrently with state benefits (they just topped me up to full pay), but I didn't realize this until I talked to HR. I almost waited until my company leave ended and would have missed out completely! Also, make sure you understand the difference between SDI (for pregnancy disability/recovery) and PFL (for bonding) - they're separate programs with separate applications. Good luck mama!

I'm going through this exact same situation right now! Due in September and my company also offers generous paid leave but I've been so confused about the state benefits timing. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea about the 49-day deadline from disability start date. I was planning to wait until my employer benefits ended to apply for anything state-related, which clearly would have been a huge mistake! One question I still have - for those who filed SDI while receiving 100% employer pay, did you actually receive any SDI payments or does it just preserve your eligibility for PFL later? My HR said our company benefits are "in lieu of" state benefits but after reading this thread I'm wondering if they really mean concurrent. Definitely calling EDD this week to clarify! Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this community is so valuable for navigating all this confusing stuff! 🙏

I'm a first-time mom due in October and this thread has been a lifesaver! I had the exact same confusion about timing - my company offers 12 weeks at 100% pay and I assumed that meant I shouldn't apply for state benefits at all. Reading everyone's experiences here made me realize I need to file for SDI as soon as my doctor certifies my disability, regardless of what my employer is paying me. One thing I'm still unclear about - if I file for SDI while my company is already paying me 100% salary, will I be receiving duplicate payments? Or does the state just hold the benefit and coordinate with my employer somehow? I don't want to accidentally receive overpayments that I'd have to pay back later. Also, for those whose companies handled the filing - did you still need to do anything on your end with EDD, or was it completely hands-off once HR took over? I have a pre-maternity meeting with HR next month and want to make sure I ask all the right questions! Thanks again to everyone who shared their experiences - this is exactly the kind of real-world advice that you just can't get from the official websites! 💕

As someone who just went through this process earlier this year, I can't stress enough how important the timing is! I was in a very similar situation - my employer offered full pay for maternity leave and I thought that meant I didn't need to worry about state benefits at all. WRONG! The 49-day deadline for SDI is calculated from when your doctor certifies your pregnancy disability (usually around 36 weeks), NOT from when your employer benefits end. I almost missed this completely and would have lost out on thousands of dollars in benefits I was entitled to. Here's what I wish someone had told me: Even if your company says their benefits are "in lieu of" state benefits, you should still file your SDI claim on time. Sometimes companies say this but actually coordinate behind the scenes, and sometimes they truly are separate - but if you don't file within that window, you'll never know and you'll be out of luck. My advice: File your DE2501 form as soon as your doctor gives you that pregnancy disability certification. Ask your HR specifically how your company coordinates with state benefits (do they supplement state pay to reach 100%, or do they pay separately?). And don't assume anything - get it in writing! You've got time since you're due in August, but start having these conversations with HR now so you're not scrambling later. Better to file and not need it than to miss the deadline entirely!

I'm a new mom who just navigated this exact situation last month! I was so confused about the timing too - my company offers 14 weeks at 100% pay and I kept getting mixed messages about whether I needed to file for state benefits. Here's what I learned after talking to multiple EDD reps: You MUST file your SDI claim within 49 days of your doctor certifying your pregnancy disability, even if your employer is paying you full salary. This deadline is non-negotiable and based on your disability start date, not when company benefits end. What really helped me was understanding that there are basically two scenarios: 1. Concurrent benefits: Your employer supplements state benefits to reach 100% pay (you get both, but employer makes up the difference) 2. Employer-only benefits: Your company pays separately from state benefits (but you still need to file to preserve eligibility) Most companies don't clearly explain which one they use! I thought mine was employer-only but it turned out to be concurrent - I would have missed out on about $3,000 if I hadn't filed on time. My recommendation: File your DE2501 form as soon as your doctor certifies disability (around 36 weeks), regardless of what your employer is doing. Ask HR directly: "Do I need to file for state benefits while receiving company pay?" and get their answer in writing. The peace of mind is worth it - you can always sort out payment coordination later, but you can't recover missed deadlines!

As someone who works in benefits administration, I want to emphasize what others have said about the 49-day filing deadline - this is absolutely critical and many people miss it because they misunderstand how employer benefits coordinate with state programs. Here's the key point: California requires you to file your SDI claim within 49 days of when your doctor certifies your pregnancy disability (typically around 36 weeks). This deadline exists regardless of whether your employer pays you 0%, 50%, or 100% during leave. Your employer's policy of "100% base pay coverage" could mean: - They supplement SDI/PFL to reach 100% (concurrent) - They pay you separately and don't use state benefits (substitute) - They coordinate behind the scenes in ways you may not see The problem is many HR departments use confusing language like "in lieu of state benefits" when they actually mean "in addition to state benefits." My strong recommendation: File your DE2501 form as soon as your doctor provides pregnancy disability certification, even if you're receiving full employer pay. This preserves your rights and starts your benefit timeline. If it turns out you don't need the payments because your employer covers everything, no harm done. But if you miss that 49-day window, you've lost thousands in benefits you've been paying into through payroll deductions. Also make sure to ask HR specifically: "Am I required to file for state disability benefits while receiving company maternity pay?" Get the answer documented.

I'm a new mom who just went through this exact situation 3 months ago! Your confusion is totally understandable - the timing rules are so confusing when you have generous employer benefits. Here's what I learned the hard way: You absolutely MUST file your SDI claim within 49 days of when your doctor certifies your pregnancy disability (usually around 36 weeks), even though your employer is paying you 100%. That 49-day clock starts ticking from your disability date, NOT from when your company benefits end. I almost made the same mistake you're considering - waiting until my employer-paid leave ended to apply for state benefits. Thankfully a coworker caught my error just in time! Even though my company called their policy "separate from state benefits," it turned out they actually coordinated behind the scenes. The key things to ask your HR: - Do I need to file for SDI/PFL while receiving company pay? - Does our policy run concurrently with state benefits or consecutively? - Will the company file claims on my behalf or do I need to do it myself? My advice: File your DE2501 form as soon as your doctor certifies disability, regardless of what your employer is doing. You can always sort out payment coordination later, but you can't recover from missing that 49-day deadline. I would have lost about $4,000 in benefits I'd been paying into if I had waited! Don't let the generous employer policy fool you into missing out on state benefits you're entitled to. File early and ask questions later! 💕