Welcome to the Employment Development Department

Benefit Amounts

Your claim begins on the date you first began to Care or Bond. PFL calculates your weekly benefit amount using your base period. The date your PFL claim began determines your base period, unless the claim effective date is adjusted by PFL. If you want your claim to begin later so that you will have a different base period, please call PFL at 1-877-238-4373 before you file your claim. You may not change the beginning date of your claim or adjust your base period after you have established a valid claim.

This base period covers 12 months and is divided into four consecutive quarters. Your base period includes wages subject to SDI tax which you were paid approximately 5 to 17 months before your PFL claim begins. Your base period does not include wages being paid at the time the bonding or care began. For a PFL claim to be valid, you must have at least $300 in wages in the base period. Using the following, you may determine the base period for your claim.

If your claim begins in:

  • January, February, or March, your base period is the 12 months ending last September 30. (Example: A claim beginning February 14, 2009, uses a base period of October 1, 2007, through September 30, 2008.)
  • April, May, or June, your base period is the 12 months ending last December 31. (Example: A claim beginning June 20, 2009, uses a base period of January 1, 2008, through December 31, 2008.)
  • July, August, or September, your base period is the 12 months ending last March 31. (Example: A claim beginning September 27, 2009, uses a base period of April 1, 2008, through March 31, 2009.)
  • October, November, or December, your base period is the 12 months ending last June 30. (Example: A claim beginning November 2, 2009, uses a base period of July 1, 2008, through June 30, 2009.)

The quarter of your base period in which you were paid the highest wages determines your weekly benefit amount. For further information, refer to Disability Insurance (DI) and Paid Family Leave (PFL) Weekly Benefit Amounts (DE 2588). You may need to download the free Adobe Reader to view and print linked documents.

You may not change the beginning date of your claim or adjust your base period after you have established a valid claim.

Your daily benefit amount is your weekly benefit amount divided by seven. Your maximum benefit amount is six times your weekly benefit amount or the total wages subject to SDI tax paid in your base period, whichever is less. Exceptions are as follows:

  • For employers and self-employed individuals who elect SDI coverage, the maximum benefit amount is six times the weekly rate.

Contact the PFL office to inquire and to provide additional information if your situation fits any of these circumstances: If you do not have sufficient base period wages and you continue to care or bond, you may be able to establish a valid claim by using a later beginning date. If you do not have enough base period wages and you were actively seeking work for 60 days or more in any quarter of the base period, you may be able to substitute wages paid in prior quarters. Additionally, you may be entitled to substitute wages paid in prior quarters either to make your claim valid or to increase your benefit amount if during your base period you were in the military service, received workers' compensation benefits, or did not work because of a labor dispute.