Disability & Paid Family Leave

During your pregnancy and postpartum, you may qualify for both Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave. We encourage you to review your disability leave options with your Human Resources Department and by viewing the State of California EDD options here.

How to Apply for State Disability Insurance

File your State Disability Insurance Claim online. The State is no longer accepting ‘future’ dated claims. You will need to wait nine days after the “start” of your maternity leave and you have up to 49 days to file from your “start” date to file your claim. Claims initiated after 49 days are subject to denials, and will require an appeal process.

There is a 7 day non-payable waiting period which begins on the first date of your disability leave. Once you have completed your portion, you will be given a RECEIPT NUMBER (Example of Receipt Number: R10000000xxxxxxxx). Please email this number to our Disability Coordinator, Cynthia Vela-Hewitt at cynthia@goldengateobgyn.org.

If you have Employer Disability Forms. please email them to Cynthia at cynthia@goldengateobgyn.org, or fax them directly to her at (415) 230-2379. Be sure to indicate your last day of work, and the “start” date of your disability leave.

How to Apply for Paid Family Leave (PFL)

For patients utilizing their 8-week PFL benefits following their SDI benefits, the State will send you these forms once your disability leave ends (your disability leave will end 6 weeks after birth for vaginal deliveries or 8 weeks after birth for Cesarean deliveries).  A medical diagnosis is not required in order to file for PFL and there is no need to submit your PFL receipt number to our office. You can find the online application here : https://edd.ca.gov/en/Disability/How_to_File_a_PFL_Claim_in_SDI_Online.

It is important to note that Paid Family Leave supersedes any extension to your disability leave. Therefore you should wait to file your PFL claim with the State of California until you are sure of the date on which your disability leave will end.

For partners taking Paid Family Leave (PFL), the first 7 days of PFL is not paid by the State as it is considered your “waiting period”. For more information, please consult with your company’s Human Resources department.

Please note that there is a $30 charge per form, as outlined in our Office Policies.