Paternity Leave in California: How Much Time Off New Fathers and Partners Get

If you qualify, California gives a new father or partner up to 12 workweeks of job-protected bonding leave under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA). Paid Family Leave (PFL) can pay you for up to 8 weeks of that time, at about 70% to 90% of your wages, capped at $1,765 a week in 2026. CFRA holds your job but pays nothing. PFL pays but does not hold your job, which is why fathers use the two together.

At a glance

• "Paternity leave" is not a legal term in California. The law calls it bonding leave, and it covers birth fathers, adoptive and foster parents, same-sex parents and registered domestic partners.
• The Employment Development Department (EDD) says it plainly: "PFL provides benefit payments but not job protection."

What people assume, and what California law says

How do CFRA and Paid Family Leave fit together?

CFRA is the job protection. Government Code section 12945.2 makes it unlawful for a covered employer to refuse an eligible employee "up to a total of 12 workweeks in any 12-month period for family care and medical leave." Bonding with a new child, by birth, adoption or foster placement, is one of the listed reasons. The same section says the employer is not required to pay you for that leave.

PFL is the money. It is a state insurance benefit, funded by the SDI deductions on your paycheck and paid by the EDD. Your employer does not pay it. The statute calls it "up to eight weeks of wage replacement benefits," and caps it at eight weeks in any 12-month period.

The paid weeks do not stack on top of the protected weeks. If you qualify for both FMLA and CFRA, the PFL statute says you take PFL "concurrent with leave taken under the FMLA and the CFRA" rather than after it. The result is up to 12 weeks off with your job held, eight of which can carry PFL pay. The other four are unpaid unless you use your own paid time off.

What does PFL pay in 2026?

The EDD sets the 2026 maximum at $1,765 a week, up from $1,681 in 2025. The minimum is $50 a week. Your weekly amount is "about 70–90% (depending on income) of wages you earned 5 to 18 months before your claim start date," worked out from your highest-earning quarter in that period.

There is no unpaid waiting period for PFL. That rule was removed in 2018. A birth mother's disability claim still has one, so do not assume her paperwork and yours work the same way.

Who qualifies for paternity leave in California?

The two programs have different tests, and you can pass one while failing the other.

For CFRA job protection, you need all of these:

• An employer with five or more employees, or any public employer. The five do not have to work full time or at the same location, and they can be in any state.
• More than 12 months of service with that employer. The months do not have to be continuous.
• At least 1,250 hours worked in the 12 months before the leave starts.

For PFL pay, the EDD requires that you earned at least $300 and paid into SDI in the last 18 months, and that you are employed or actively looking for work when your leave starts. How long you have worked at your current job does not affect it. Neither does citizenship or immigration status.

Two groups get one program without the other.

Fathers at small businesses. A business with 5 to 49 employees is covered by CFRA but not by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). FMLA needs an employer with 50 or more employees within 75 miles of your worksite. California law still gives you the full 12 weeks.

Public employees. CFRA covers the state, cities and other public employers at any size. But the EDD says the groups exempt from SDI include "public entities, which include most government and school district employees." If you work for one, check whether SDI comes out of your paycheck before counting on PFL.

Do you have to be married, or the biological father?

No. CFRA bonding leave is triggered by "the birth of a child of the employee or the placement of a child with an employee in connection with the adoption or foster care of the child by the employee." Nothing in that language turns on marriage.

The definition of a child is broad. CFRA covers a biological, adopted or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, a child of a domestic partner, or a child to whom you stand in loco parentis, a Latin phrase meaning in the place of a parent. The regulation says that relationship "does not require a biological or legal relationship." PFL uses a matching definition.

So the right covers an unmarried father, a non-birth mother in a same-sex couple, a registered domestic partner, and adoptive and foster parents. The Civil Rights Department (CRD) (formerly DFEH) names fathers, adoptive and foster parents, and same-sex parents directly in its bonding guide.

For PFL, the EDD asks for documentation showing your relationship to the child, such as a copy of the birth certificate or record, an adoptive placement agreement, or a foster care placement record.

If you are the birth parent, pregnancy disability leave comes first and changes the arithmetic. Our guide to how long maternity leave is in California covers that side.

What if both parents work for the same employer?

Under California law, you each get your own 12 weeks. The CRD bonding guide says both parents "are entitled to CFRA leave, even if both parents work for the same employer." That has been the rule since SB 1383, which required an employer who employs both parents to grant leave to each of them.

Federal law is stingier. FMLA lets an employer limit spouses at the same company to a combined 12 weeks for the birth of a child. Where both laws apply, CRD says "the employee receives the benefit of the more protective law," so each of you keeps your own 12 CFRA weeks.

Can you take paternity leave in pieces?

Yes. The regulation says bonding leave "does not have to be taken in one continuous period of time." The basic minimum is two weeks per block. On top of that, your employer "shall grant a request for a CFRA leave of less than two weeks' duration on any two occasions," and may agree to more.

Every block has to finish within one year of the birth or placement. You cannot save bonding leave for the child's second year.

The 12 workweeks are counted in your own working schedule. For a full-time employee on five eight-hour days a week, the regulation sets it at 60 working days. A half-time worker gets the same 12 workweeks, pro rata.

PFL can be split too. The EDD says: "You can break up your eight weeks. You don't have to take PFL all at once."

Can your employer make you use vacation, PTO or sick leave?

It depends whether PFL is paying you that week. This is where a lot of online advice is out of date.

During unpaid CFRA weeks, your employer may require you to use accrued vacation or other accrued time off. It may not require sick leave for bonding, though you and your employer can agree that you will use it.

During weeks PFL is paying you, your employer may not require you to use paid time off, sick leave, or accrued vacation. You and your employer can agree to use paid leave to top up the benefit. The EDD says this can bring you "up to 100% of your pay."

The old two-week rule is gone. Employers used to be able to require up to two weeks of unused vacation before PFL started. AB 2123 ended that for any claim starting on or after January 1, 2025. If your employer still quotes the old rule, it is relying on a law that no longer applies.

How much notice do you have to give?

If the need is foreseeable, the statute requires "reasonable advance notice." For an expected birth, adoption or foster placement, the regulation lets your employer require at least 30 days. If you cannot give 30 days, because the baby came early or the placement moved fast, give notice "as soon as practicable."

You do not have to mention CFRA or FMLA by name. You do have to give the reason, such as the expected birth of a child. Your employer must respond "no later than five business days after receiving the employee's request."

Put the request in writing, keep a copy, and file your PFL claim separately with the EDD. The claim must be submitted no earlier than the first day of your leave and no later than 41 days after it, unless the EDD finds good cause for a late one.

Do you keep your health insurance and get your job back?

Yes, if you are on CFRA leave.

Your employer "shall maintain and pay for coverage" under its group health plan for the duration of the leave, up to 12 workweeks. It can recover the premiums it paid during any unpaid part of the leave, and only in one situation: you do not come back when the leave ends, or you come back for less than 30 days, and the reason was not a serious health condition or something else beyond your control. The leave also does not count as a break in service, so you come back with no less seniority than you had when it started.

When you come back, you are entitled to the same position or a comparable one. The regulation defines comparable as "virtually identical" in pay, benefits, shift, schedule, geographic location, and working conditions. Being replaced while you were out is not an excuse. The regulation says you are entitled to reinstatement "even if the employee has been replaced or the employee's position has been restructured to accommodate the employee's absence." The exceptions are narrow. Your employer can refuse only if it proves you would have lost the job anyway, for example in a layoff that would have reached you during the leave, or proves that you obtained or used the leave by fraud. The same rule applies to hours. If a shift was eliminated or overtime was cut while you were out, and that would have happened even if you had been working, you are not entitled to that shift or those hours back. Otherwise, a different shift or fewer hours is not a comparable position.

PFL by itself gives none of this. It is the CFRA leave that holds your seat.

Ready to talk it through?

If you came back to a different job, a cut in hours, or a sudden bad review, the timing matters. Tell us what happened, and we will look at the dates with you.

What if your employer refuses, punishes or fires you for taking it?

CFRA covers both. It is unlawful for an employer to fire, suspend or discriminate against you because you used family leave. It is separately unlawful to "interfere with, restrain, or deny" the leave.

The regulation lists what interference looks like:

• refusing to authorize CFRA leave, or discouraging you from using it
• cutting your hours so that you fall short of eligibility
• firing you because the employer expects you to ask for leave
• counting the leave against you under an attendance policy, or in hiring, promotion or discipline

You cannot sign your CFRA rights away in advance either. The regulation says employers may not induce employees to waive them.

Losing the job does not stop PFL. The EDD says termination "will not interfere with your benefits as long as you continue to meet the other eligibility requirements."

For the wider picture of what counts as payback at work, see our guide to workplace retaliation laws in California.

How long do you have to file?

Two clocks run. First, you must submit an intake form to the CRD within three years of the date you were last harmed. Second, once CRD issues a Right to Sue notice, you have one year from the date of that notice to file a lawsuit. Deadlines can run earlier than you expect, so talk to a lawyer about your dates as soon as something goes wrong.

If your employer has between 5 and 19 employees, there is a step in between. After CRD issues the right-to-sue notice, you must contact CRD's dispute resolution division before filing a CFRA lawsuit. If you or your employer then asks for mediation, the lawsuit waits until mediation ends. The one-year deadline to sue pauses from the day you contact the division until the mediation is complete or is deemed unsuccessful.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between CFRA and PFL?

CFRA is a job-protection law: up to 12 workweeks of bonding leave and, except in narrow cases such as a genuine layoff, the same or a comparable job afterwards, but no pay. Paid Family Leave is a state insurance benefit paid by the EDD. It pays up to 8 weeks at about 70% to 90% of wages, up to $1,765 a week in 2026, but the EDD says it does not protect your job.

Do you have to be married to take paternity leave in California?

No. CFRA bonding leave is triggered by the birth of a child of the employee, or the placement of a child for adoption or foster care. Nothing in that language depends on marriage. The EDD asks PFL claimants for documentation showing the relationship to the child, such as a copy of the birth certificate or record.

When should I apply for Paid Family Leave in California?

File no earlier than the first day of your family leave and no later than 41 days after it starts. The EDD can accept a late claim if you show good cause. Bonding benefits must also be claimed within one year of the birth, adoption or foster placement, so the EDD advises filing no later than eight to nine weeks before the child's first anniversary in your family.

How long do dads take off for paternity leave in California?

EDD's published PFL statistics do not give an average for fathers alone. They do show who files. In state fiscal year 2025-26, 288,385 PFL bonding claims were filed, and men filed 46.30% of them, up from 38.62% in 2018-19. Across every type of PFL claim, the average was 7.45 weeks. The legal maximum for a father is 12 weeks of CFRA job protection, with up to 8 of them paid.

Can my employer make me use vacation during paternity leave in California?

Only during unpaid weeks. During CFRA leave that PFL is not paying for, your employer may require you to use accrued vacation, but not sick leave. While you are receiving PFL, your employer may not require you to use vacation, PTO or sick leave. The old rule letting employers require two weeks of vacation before PFL ended for claims starting on or after January 1, 2025.

Can I be fired for taking paternity leave in California?

Not for using CFRA leave. California law makes it unlawful to fire, suspend or discriminate against an employee for using family leave, or to interfere with the attempt. The employer cannot count the leave against you under an attendance policy. You can file with the Civil Rights Department (CRD) within three years of the date you were last harmed. PFL on its own does not protect your job, so whether you qualify for CFRA matters.

Can I take paternity leave if I have only worked somewhere a few months?

You may get PFL pay but not CFRA job protection. CFRA requires more than 12 months of service with the employer and at least 1,250 hours in the previous 12 months. PFL does not depend on time at your current job. It requires that you earned at least $300 and paid into State Disability Insurance in the last 18 months, and that you are working or looking for work when the leave starts.

Where to start

Before the baby arrives or the placement happens, give your employer written notice with the expected date, ideally 30 days ahead. Check your paystub for the SDI deduction. Then file the PFL claim on or after the first day of your leave, well inside the 41 days.

If something has already gone wrong, bring the dates: when you asked, what your employer said, when the leave started, and what happened when you came back. For how bonding leave fits with every other kind of leave in California, see our guide to California leave of absence laws.

The Law Offices of Jonathan J. Delshad is a Los Angeles based employment law firm representing employees across California in wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and wage and hour matters. Representing employees is the core of the firm's practice. Mr. Delshad serves as Editor-in-Chief of the California Wrongful Termination Law Review and trained at Latham & Watkins. Recognition includes Super Lawyers (2022 to 2027), Best Lawyers (since 2017), and an Avvo 10.0 "Superb" rating. Reviewed for California employment law accuracy. Last updated: October 13, 2026.

Attorney advertising. This article is educational only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship, which exists only under a signed engagement agreement. Every case is different, and outcomes depend on the specific facts. Deadlines can run early, so consult a lawyer promptly about your situation.