Earlier this month, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation expanding eligibility under California’s Paid Family Leave program to include coverage for individuals who are caring for a “designated person.” A designated person is defined as “any care recipient related by blood or whose association with the individual is the equivalent of a family relationship.”

Currently, California’s Paid Family Leave program provides wage replacement benefits for up to eight weeks to eligible workers who take time off for prescribed purposes, including to care for a seriously ill family member. Beginning on July 1, 2028, California’s Paid Family Leave program will expand to provide the same wage replacement benefits for individuals who take time off work to care for a seriously ill “designated person.”

To qualify for benefits for their care of a designated person, an individual worker requesting such benefits must:

1. identify the designated person for whom the individual is caring; and
2. attest, under penalty of perjury, how the individual is related by blood to the designated person, or how the individual’s association with the designated person is the equivalent of a family relationship.

The expansion allows more California employees to take paid family leave to care for loved ones who may not fit into traditional definitions of family. Employers should review their leave policies and procedures to ensure compliance prior to July 1, 2028.

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If you have questions or would like additional information, please contact our Labor & Employment attorneys or the primary EGS attorney with whom you work.