California passed a law allowing new parents to apply early for paid leave. When will it take effect?

In September, California passed a law that allows people to apply early for paid family leave. More than half a year later, the change hasn't been implemented yet, nor is there a specific timeline.

The shift sounds simple enough: Currently, people have to wait until their first day of leave to apply for it. The legislation lets Californians do the paperwork up to a month ahead of the expected leave, to reduce stress when a baby is imminent.

But it's bundled into a major overhaul of California's Employment Development Department, which administers unemployment, paid family leave and disability benefits. That project launched in 2022 and is slated to cost more than $1.2 billion.

In an email, an EDD spokesperson said that the changes in the new law will be incorporated "in system upgrades as part of the EDDNext modernization effort," but did not provide a date. Spokespeople for Senator María Elena Durazo, who sponsored the legislation, and Gov. Gavin Newsom's office both referred LAist to EDD for answers.

For now, expecting parents and others who need to take family leave will still need to wait to apply. In practice, this means people can go weeks before getting state payments while on family leave.

What's the EDDNext modernization effort?

The effort to remake EDD and upgrade its technological systems is a years-long process that was launched in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the project's deputy director Ron Hughes, who spoke on a podcast about the program last year.

" We're introducing lots of changes in technology in a very short period of time," he said.

It's the "biggest-ever attempt" to change the department, according to CalMatters.

According to a recent report from California's Legislative Analyst's Office on the state's 2025-2026 budget, in the next fiscal year it's expected that a new project will replace EDD's current systems for disability insurance, paid family leave and unemployment insurance.

Is it normal for changes to family leave to take time?

The delay in implementing a change to family leave is typical, according to Katherine Wutchiett, a senior staff attorney with Legal Aid at Work and expert on paid leave. She cited a 2022 law that increased leave payments for workers who take time off to care for a new child or sick family member. Those changes just took effect this January.

Another example: a 2022 law requires EDD to collect demographic data for recipients of disability benefits. Those changes might not begin before a July 2026 deadline.

"It's my understanding that with the technological systems the EDD has, sometimes it takes some time to implement changes to the system," Wutchiett said. "It's not unusual for bills that impact paid family leave and state disability insurance to take a few years to go into effect."

Why was this law passed in the first place?

The law allowing Californians to apply early for paid family leave is meant to help working class women and people who can't afford to take a few weeks off unpaid while waiting for their benefits to kick in.

"Workers who do not have the savings to cover several weeks of expenses without their regular income while waiting for…benefits are less likely to take leave from work," according to a fact sheet from Durazo.

The new legislation will let people apply 30 days ahead of when they expect to take leave. It requires that the state pay benefits within 14 days of receiving a claim, or as soon as leave begins.

Lower income workers take leave at lower rates than higher income workers, according to a 2022 report from the California Budget & Policy Center. "This is especially the case for workers with low wages who are disproportionately women, Black, and Latinx Californians," that report states.

In a report on maternal health equity in California released this month, 47% of Black and Latina women reported difficulty accessing or not being able to access paid family leave for their child's birth.

According to Shakari Byerly, who directed the research, that number is even higher — 51% — for survey respondents on Medi-Cal, the state's health insurance for low-income people.

 "It really underscores the importance of economic supports for the ability of women to have healthy birthing experiences," she said.