Can husband take PFL only Monday-Friday to stretch remaining 2 weeks across 3 weeks?

Yes, your husband can absolutely take PFL Mon-Fri only to stretch out his remaining benefits. PFL is designed to be flexible in how you use it. The important thing to understand is that PFL pays based on your husband's normal work schedule. If he normally works Monday-Friday, he'll only get paid for those days anyway.\n\nSo if he takes Mon-Fri off for 3 weeks, he'll get paid for 15 days of benefits (5 days × 3 weeks). The weekends wouldn't be paid regardless because he doesn't normally work those days. This is a smart strategy to stretch out the remaining time!\n\nJust make sure he files his certification correctly, indicating exactly which days he's taking off. EDD will calculate the benefits based on his normal work schedule.

Thank you so much! This makes total sense. I'll let him know he should definitely file for exactly which days he's taking off and make sure he's clear about his normal work schedule. Appreciate the clarification!

Thats actually NOT true!! My husband tryd this last yr and it was a TOTAL nightmare with EDD. They told him he HAD to take full consecutive weeks or they wouldn't approve it. Like ur friend found out they made him take the whole week or nothing. Something about the certification process not being set up for random days. Maybe its changed in 2025 but I doubt it lol. The EDD system is so messed up!!!!!

I work with PFL claims regularly, and there's some confusion here that I'd like to clear up. The California EDD does allow for intermittent PFL, but there are specific rules:\n\n1. PFL can be taken in full-day increments only (no partial days)\n2. You can schedule it in any pattern, but each claim must be properly certified\n3. Weekend days are only paid if they're normal workdays for your husband\n\nThe issue your friend encountered wasn't about stretching days - it was likely about certification periods. Each PFL certification covers a specific period, and EDD will only pay for qualifying days within that period based on normal work schedule.\n\nYour husband can absolutely take Mon-Fri for several weeks, skipping weekends. He just needs to clearly indicate his work schedule and the specific days requested on each certification.

Ok but this is NOT what they told us on the phone!!! They literally said he could NOT do random days and had to take full weeks. Maybe the person we talked to was wrong? Classic EDD giving different answers to different ppl 🙄

We just went through this exact situation! My husband had 2.5 weeks of baby bonding left and wanted to stretch it out. What we found is that it TECHNICALLY is possible to do Mon-Fri only, but practically it was a headache.\n\nThe way PFL works is that your husband only gets paid for his normal workdays. So if he normally works Mon-Fri, those are the only days he'd get paid for anyway. Weekends wouldn't be paid regardless.\n\nThe tricky part is the certification process. When he certifies, he needs to clearly indicate which specific days he's taking off. The EDD form asks for specific dates, and you're supposed to submit certification forms every two weeks.\n\nI recommend having him call EDD directly before starting this plan to confirm exactly how to fill out the forms. It took us 3 calls to finally get someone who could clearly explain it.

Thank you for sharing your experience! It's really helpful to hear from someone who's actually done this. Did your husband end up doing the Mon-Fri strategy successfully? And did he have any issues with the certifications?

Yes, he did end up doing Mon-Fri for about 3.5 weeks (stretching his remaining 2.5 weeks). The first certification was confusing because the form isn't really designed for intermittent leave like this. But once he got it figured out, the second one was easier.\n\nOne thing to watch out for: make sure he submits certification forms on time! The first one should be submitted right after his first two weeks of intermittent leave, even if that's not a full 10 days of benefits. We almost missed this and it would have delayed payment.

I don't mean to complicate things, but has your husband's employer approved this plan? While EDD administers the benefits, his employer has to approve the PFL schedule too. Some companies require consecutive days or have specific policies about how baby bonding can be taken. Just something to check before he makes plans with EDD.

That's a really good point I hadn't thought about! His company has been really flexible so far with his previous PFL time, but I'll definitely have him double-check their policy about non-consecutive days. Thanks for bringing this up!

I've been trying to call EDD for 3 days about an intermittent PFL question similar to yours and can't get through at all. Keeps saying

I was in the same situation last month - couldn't get through for days. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an EDD rep in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/DOLxZQb92wM?si=6N1iCQ3a8Cdb2Ay5\n\nTotally worth it for me because I needed to sort out my PFL certification issue and was getting nowhere trying to call directly. The EDD rep I spoke to confirmed that yes, you can take intermittent days, but you need to clearly indicate the specific days on your certification form.

Thanks! I'll check that out. I'm desperate at this point - my certification is due in 2 days and I still don't know how to report my intermittent schedule.

my husband just finished his pfl and i can confirm that the system is super confusing!!! he ended up taking his remaining days all at once because trying to do separate days was too complicated with how the certification forms work. if ur husband only has 2 weeks left maybe its easier to just take it all at once? just my 2 cents!

Let me clarify a couple of important points about PFL scheduling:\n\n1. For baby bonding PFL, benefits are only payable for days you would normally work and lose wages. So if your husband normally works Mon-Fri, then taking Mon-Fri off would get him 5 days of benefits per week, regardless of weekends.\n\n2. The confusion often comes from how EDD processes claims. While you CAN take intermittent leave (specific days rather than consecutive weeks), the certification forms work on a two-week cycle.\n\n3. For 2025 claims, EDD generally prefers (but doesn't absolutely require) that baby bonding PFL be taken in two-week increments. However, intermittent leave is allowed as long as:\n - The employer approves the schedule\n - Each increment is at least a full day (no partial days)\n - Proper certification is filed\n\n4. The DE 2508 form (PFL claim form) has been updated to better accommodate intermittent schedules, but it can still be confusing to complete.\n\nYour husband's plan to take Mon-Fri for three weeks to use his remaining ~2 weeks of benefits is completely valid under PFL rules. Just make sure he clearly documents his normal work schedule on the claim form.

Thank you for such a detailed explanation! This is exactly what I needed to know. I'll make sure he carefully documents his normal work schedule on the claim form. One more question - when should he submit the claim for this intermittent schedule? A week before he plans to start taking the days?

You're welcome! For baby bonding PFL, he should submit the claim ideally 1-2 weeks before his first day of leave. This gives EDD time to process the initial claim.\n\nOne important note: if he's planning to spread the leave across October as you mentioned, he'll likely need to submit two certification forms. The first one should be filed within 14 days after his first two weeks of intermittent leave (even if that's not 10 full days), and the second one after he completes all his leave days.\n\nMake sure he keeps track of exactly which dates he takes off, as he'll need to list those specifically on the certification forms.

Just want to confirm what some others have said - I successfully did this exact stretching strategy earlier this year. The key was being super clear on the claim form about which specific days I was taking (only my regular workdays, which were Mon-Fri). \n\nOne thing that wasn't mentioned yet: make sure your husband's employer completes their portion of the form correctly too! My HR department initially checked the wrong box indicating I worked weekends when I didn't, which caused confusion. Once that was fixed, everything processed correctly.\n\nFollow the expert advice above about certifying on time, and it should work out fine!

This thread has been super helpful! I'm actually in a similar situation with my partner who has about 10 days of PFL left that expires soon. Reading through everyone's experiences, it sounds like the Mon-Fri strategy can definitely work, but the key seems to be: 1. Getting employer approval first (as @Giovanni Marino mentioned) 2. Being crystal clear on the claim forms about normal work schedule 3. Calling EDD ahead of time to confirm the certification process 4. Keeping detailed records of exact dates taken One question I have - for those who successfully did this, did you find EDD payments came through on the normal schedule, or were there any delays because of the intermittent nature? I'm worried about potential processing hiccups that might delay payments. Thanks to everyone who shared their real experiences - this is exactly the kind of practical info that's so hard to find in the official EDD documentation!

This is such valuable information! I'm currently dealing with a similar situation where I have about 12 days of PFL remaining that expire in early 2026, and I was wondering if I could do something like this. Reading through everyone's experiences, it seems like the consensus is that yes, you can take Mon-Fri only to stretch benefits, but the certification process requires extra attention to detail. I'm particularly interested in @Liam O'Sullivan's point about the DE 2508 form being updated for 2025 - that's good to know! One thing I'm curious about that I haven't seen mentioned yet: if your husband takes intermittent days like this, does it affect his ability to take any additional family leave later if needed? Like if there's a family emergency or something? I know there are annual limits on PFL, but I'm not sure how intermittent scheduling impacts that. Also, @ThunderBolt7, please keep us updated on how it goes for your husband! It would be really helpful to hear about the actual experience once he goes through the process. Thanks to everyone sharing their real-world experiences - this kind of practical advice is so much more helpful than trying to decipher the official EDD guidelines alone!