EDD SDI start date confusion when baby arrived same day as last work day - holiday pay affecting claim date?

Your SDI should start on the first day you were disabled and unable to work - which would be 12/24 in your case. The fact that you're receiving holiday pay doesn't change when your disability actually began. On the DE 2501 form, you need to be truthful about your first day of disability. But don't worry! You can still receive both holiday pay AND SDI benefits for the same period. You just need to report any wages/income you receive during your disability period on your certification forms. EDD will then adjust your benefit amount accordingly for those weeks where you received holiday pay. This is very common with end-of-year births - lots of overlap with holiday pay periods.

CONGRATS on ur baby!! i had almost the EXACT situation in 2023!! my dr put 12/21 as my first disability day even tho i had pto and holiday pay all the way til new years. EDD was fine with it and just reduced my benefit amount during those weeks when i was getting paid by work. then when my holiday pay ended the full SDI kicked in automatically!

I went through something similar last year and learned that SDI and employer pay are two completely separate things. Your disability claim should reflect the medical reality (first day unable to work due to childbirth) regardless of what your employer pays you. The correct date would be 12/24 since that's your first day of disability. But when you certify for benefits, you'll report any wages/holiday pay, and EDD will adjust accordingly. This actually protects you by establishing your claim earlier, which can matter if there are any issues later. Also, congrats on your baby! And good thinking asking about this before filing - so many people (including me) mess this up and have to deal with corrections later.

This is confusing because having a baby counts as a "disability" for state purposes but not for how we normally think! lol. But yeah the date you're disabled from working is the day after delivery typically. So 12/24 should be your SDI start date even though you're getting other pay.

wait I'm confused now... does anyone know if this applies to PFL baby bonding too? I'm taking PFL after my disability ends and my work is paying me partial wages during that time... do I need to report those?? nobody told me!

If anyone's having trouble actually reaching EDD to get a straight answer on this (which is super common), I finally got through using Claimyr. It connects you directly to an EDD agent without the endless waiting and disconnects. Saved me so much stress when I had a similar SDI question after my baby. You can check them out at claimyr.com - they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/DOLxZQb92wM?si=6N1iCQ3a8Cdb2Ay5 I confirmed with the EDD agent that for pregnancy/birth claims, you should always list the first day you couldn't work due to the medical condition (so 12/24 in your case) regardless of PTO, vacation, or holiday pay.

Just wanted to add that the doctor who completes their portion of your disability claim will likely put 12/24 as the beginning of your disability period anyway. My doctor put the day after I gave birth as my disability start date, even though I had discussed trying to use some vacation time first. The medical portion of the form overrides what you put, so the point might be moot.

theres actually a whole section on the edd website about this! its under "coordination of benefits" or something. you can get both types of pay at same time but they offset. my hr actually reported my holiday pay to edd automatically so i didnt need to do anything but your company might be different

UPDATE: Thanks everyone for your help! I talked to my doctor's office and they confirmed they'll be putting 12/24 as my disability start date. And I was able to reach someone at EDD (finally!) who confirmed I should report my holiday pay on my certification forms. They'll reduce my benefit amount for those weeks but it'll establish my claim properly. One less thing to stress about while figuring out this whole new mom thing!

Congratulations on your new baby! I just went through this exact situation last month when my daughter arrived unexpectedly early on my last work day before Christmas break. The key thing to remember is that your SDI disability start date should be based on when you were medically unable to work, not when your employer stops paying you. So 12/24 is correct since that's the first day you couldn't work due to childbirth. What helped me was thinking of it this way: SDI and your employer's holiday pay are completely separate systems. You can receive both simultaneously - EDD will just reduce your SDI benefit amount during weeks when you report receiving wages from your employer. Make sure to keep good records of exactly how much holiday pay you receive each week, because you'll need to report those amounts on your bi-weekly certifications. The EDD system is actually pretty good at handling these overlapping payments once you report them correctly. Also, if you're planning to take PFL for baby bonding after your SDI ends, the same wage reporting rules will apply there too. Good luck with everything!

This is such a helpful thread! I'm due in April and already stressing about all the paperwork and timing issues. Reading through everyone's experiences makes me feel so much more prepared. One quick question - for those who had to report holiday pay on their certifications, did you report the gross amount or net amount after taxes? My company front-loads a bunch of holiday pay in December and I want to make sure I'm reporting the right numbers when the time comes. Also @Summer Green - congratulations on your little one! It sounds like you got great advice here and figured everything out. Hope you're enjoying those newborn snuggles despite all the EDD stress! 🎉👶

Just wanted to chime in as someone who's been through this process twice! Your situation is actually really common - babies don't follow our work schedules! 😅 You're absolutely right to list 12/24 as your SDI start date since that's when you became medically unable to work due to childbirth. The holiday pay doesn't change when your disability actually began - it just means you'll have some income to report during your certification periods. One tip that helped me: keep a simple spreadsheet or note on your phone tracking exactly what holiday pay you received each week (even if it's $0 for some weeks). When you do your bi-weekly certifications, you'll need these amounts handy. EDD's system will automatically calculate the offset so you don't accidentally double-dip. Also, don't stress too much about "messing up" - EDD deals with end-of-year births and holiday pay overlaps all the time. As long as you're honest about your wages when certifying, they'll handle the calculations correctly. Congratulations on your little one and good luck with your claim! The paperwork stress will pass, but those newborn cuddles are priceless. 💕

This is such a helpful thread! I'm currently 36 weeks pregnant and working in HR myself, so I've been trying to prepare for all the potential timing issues with my own maternity leave. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been invaluable. Just to add another perspective - from the employer side, we actually encourage our employees to start their SDI claims based on their actual disability date regardless of any PTO or holiday pay they might receive. It makes the coordination much cleaner on both ends when everyone is transparent about the dates and wages. @Summer Green - congratulations on your early arrival! It sounds like you got excellent advice here. The key takeaway for anyone else reading this is exactly what everyone said: be honest about your disability start date (12/24 in your case) and report all wages during certification. The systems are designed to handle these overlaps. For anyone else dealing with similar situations, another helpful resource is your company's benefits administrator if you have one. They often have experience with these SDI/holiday pay coordination issues and can help you understand what wages will be reported and when. Thanks for asking this question - I'm sure it will help lots of other parents who find themselves in similar situations! 🤱

This whole thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm 32 weeks pregnant and had been stressing about exactly this scenario since my due date is right around the holidays too. What really clicked for me reading everyone's responses is that the SDI start date isn't about when you stop getting paid by your employer - it's about when you medically can't work. That seems so obvious now but I was definitely overthinking it! @Summer Green congratulations on your little one! 🎉 It sounds like you got amazing support here and figured everything out. I'm bookmarking this whole conversation for when my time comes. One follow-up question for the group - has anyone dealt with this when you're planning to use accrued vacation/sick time AFTER the holiday pay period ends? Like if I have vacation time I want to use in January before my employer stops paying me entirely? Same reporting rules apply I assume? Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this community is such a lifesaver for navigating all these confusing benefits! 💕

This has been such an enlightening thread! I'm currently navigating my own SDI claim after having my baby in early January, and I was making this way more complicated than it needed to be. Reading through everyone's experiences really drove home the key point: report your actual disability start date (when you medically couldn't work) and then be transparent about any wages during certification. The systems are built to handle these overlaps! @Summer Green congratulations on your little one! Your timing with the holidays made for a perfect case study that I'm sure will help so many other parents. It's amazing how babies have their own schedules regardless of our work calendars! 😄 One thing that really helped me was what @Owen Jenkins mentioned about keeping a simple tracking system for wages. I created a note in my phone with weekly amounts as they came through, and it made the certification process so much smoother. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this community is incredible for getting real-world advice on navigating these benefits. For anyone else dealing with similar timing issues, definitely don't overthink it like I did initially!

This thread has been absolutely invaluable! I'm currently 28 weeks pregnant and due in early February, but after reading everyone's experiences here, I realize I need to start preparing for the possibility of an early arrival that could complicate my leave timing. What really stood out to me is how @Gael Robinson explained that you can receive both holiday pay AND SDI benefits simultaneously - I had no idea that was possible! I was under the impression you had to choose one or the other, which was stressing me out since my company also front-loads holiday pay in December. @Summer Green, congratulations on your little one! 🎉 Your situation perfectly illustrates how unpredictable birth timing can be. The fact that everyone here provided such clear, consistent advice about using 12/24 as your disability start date really gives me confidence in this community's knowledge. I'm definitely taking @Owen Jenkins' advice about keeping a wage tracking spreadsheet - that seems like such a simple but crucial step that could save a lot of headaches later. And @Liam Murphy's HR perspective was really reassuring about employers actually preferring transparency in these situations. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences. I feel so much more prepared now for whatever timing curveballs my little one might throw! This community is amazing for getting real-world guidance on navigating these complex benefits. 💕

This thread is such a treasure trove of information! I'm 35 weeks pregnant and work in healthcare, so I've been trying to plan for every possible scenario with my maternity leave timing. Reading through everyone's experiences has really helped clarify things that the official EDD materials make sound so complicated. What I love about this discussion is how it shows that these holiday/early delivery situations are actually pretty common and manageable once you understand the basics. @Summer Green, your question was perfect because it covered exactly the kind of real-world complexity that so many of us face! The consistent advice from everyone about using your actual medical disability start date (regardless of employer pay) makes total sense now. And @Gael Robinson's point about the two payment systems being separate but coordinated really clicked for me - I was also thinking I'd have to choose between them somehow. I'm definitely implementing the wage tracking system that @Owen Jenkins and others mentioned. Even though I'm not there yet, I can already see how having those amounts organized would make the bi-weekly certifications so much less stressful when you're dealing with a newborn. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this community has been incredibly helpful for understanding how these benefits actually work in practice rather than just in theory! Congratulations @Summer Green on your little one! 🎉👶

This entire thread has been so incredibly helpful! I'm 30 weeks pregnant and due in mid-March, but after reading everyone's experiences here, I feel so much more prepared for whatever timing surprises my baby might have in store. @Summer Green, first off - huge congratulations on your little one! 🎉 Your question was absolutely perfect because it addressed such a common real-world scenario that the official EDD materials don't really explain clearly. The fact that your baby arrived on your last work day before the holidays is like the ultimate test case for how these benefits work! What really clicked for me reading through all the responses is @Gael Robinson's explanation that SDI and employer holiday pay are two completely separate systems that just coordinate with each other. I had been stressing about having to "choose" between them somehow, but now I understand you can receive both - EDD just adjusts your benefit amount based on what wages you report. The wage tracking advice from @Owen Jenkins and others is brilliant and something I'm implementing right now. Even though I'm still weeks away from potentially needing it, I can already see how having those amounts organized would make the certification process so much smoother when you're sleep-deprived with a newborn. I also really appreciated @Liam Murphy's HR perspective - it's reassuring to know that employers actually prefer transparency in these situations rather than employees trying to game the system somehow. This community is amazing for getting real-world guidance that goes way beyond what you can find in official materials. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this thread is definitely getting bookmarked for future reference! 💕