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State Disability: California (CASDI)
California State Disability Insurance (SDI) is a partial wage-replacement insurance plan for California workers. The SDI program is State-mandated, and funded through employee payroll deductions. SDI provides affordable, short-term benefits to eligible workers who suffer a loss of wages when t hey are unable to work due to a NON WORK-RELATED illness or injury, or a medically disabling condition from pregnancy or childbirth. The majority of California employees, approximately 12 million workers, are covered by the SDI program. Some employees are exempt from SDI; for example, railroad employees, some employees of non-profit agencies, employees who claim religious exemptions, and most government employees. California administers its state disability law as an adjunct to its unemployment insurance law. The California Unemployment Compensation Disability Benefits Law covers most employers except public entities, public school districts and self-employed individuals. Rates change annually, based on claims experience and the fiscal viability of the fund. In 2006, employees had to contribute 0.8% of their first $79,418 in earnings to the state fund. No employer contribution is mandated, but employers can contribute toward the cost of the state plan or private plan, or pay the entire cost. (The IRS has ruled that employer contributions to the state plan or a private plan are deductible by the employer and considered taxable income to the employee. Employee contributions to the state fund are deductible as state taxes, while contributions to a private plan are treated as nondeductible personal expenses.) Eligibility. To be eligible an employee must have earned at least $300.00 in covered employment during a previous one year base period. Benefits (2006). Maximum - $840.00 per week, minimum $50.00. Benefits are paid by a schedule and are based on the wages in the calendar quarter of the base period in which the employee was paid the most. Partial weeks are based on a 7 day week. Elimination Period. Benefits begin on the eighth day of disability or first day of hospital confinement, whichever comes first. Benefit Period. 52 weeks or until benefits equal 100% of base period wages. Recurrent Disability. Consecutive periods of disability not separated by more than 23 weeks are considered as a single period of disability. Extension of Benefits. None. Note: SDI provides the employee with an award (referred to as a "greenslip") which indicates the base period, wages, weekly benefit, etc. |
