Organizations across California call for SB 951, Affordable Paid Family Leave and State Disability Insurance for All
July 22, 2022
Honorable Gavin Newsom Governor, State of California
Honorable Nancy Skinner Chair, Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee
Honorable Phil Ting Chair, Assembly Committee on Budget
Honorable Toni Atkins President pro Tempore,
California State Senate
Honorable Anthony Rendon Speaker,
California State Assembly
Re SB 951 and the PFL/SDI 90% Wage Replacement Rate Budget Proposal
To: Governor Newsom and the California State Assembly and Senate
On behalf of the following organizations, we write in strong support of SB 951 and the budget action to make Paid Family Leave and State Disability Insurance accessible to California’s families. We believe that every Californian should be able to take paid time off from work to recover from serious illness, care for their seriously ill family member or bond with a new child without jeopardizing their economic security.
California’s State Disability Insurance (SDI) and Paid Family Leave (PFL) programs have served workers in our state for decades. SDI and PFL were designed to ensure that Californians could afford to recover from their own serious injury or illness, care for a seriously ill family member or bond with a new child. Yet, SDI and PFL currently provide most workers benefits equal to only 60% of their wages, which makes SDI and PFL inaccessible for many lower wage workers.
We respectfully request that the California Legislature and Administration increase wage replacement rates, beginning in 2025, to 90 percent for lower-wage workers, those who earn up to 70 percent of the state average quarterly wage and to 70 percent for all other workers. This increased benefit would be fully funded by removing the taxable wage ceiling, allowing all California employees to contribute an equal percentage of their monthly income into the fund.¹ With this funding mechanism, 91 percent of California workers would see no change in their annual contribution into the fund.²
More than 115 organizations representing diverse constituencies including advocates for families with young children, older Californians, parents and caregivers, domestic violence prevention advocates, small businesses, health and racial equity groups and worker and community advocacy organizations are in support of this proposal. It is a California Legislative Women’s Caucus budget priority and a California Latino Legislative Caucus policy priority.
Lower wage workers utilize SDI and PFL in lower numbers than middle and high income workers. Increasing wage replacement rates for these workers is a racial and gender justice issue. California workers earning lower wages are more likely to be women, born outside of the United States, or to identify as Black or Latinx.³ When lower wage workers cannot afford to take the leave they are entitled to, they are in essence subsidizing the leaves of whiter and wealthier workers while endangering their health and the well being of their family.
Under the current program, those earning more than 33 percent of the statewide quarterly wage receive 60 percent wage replacement and those earning at or below 33 percent receive 70 percent. Even full time minimum wage workers do not qualify for this 70 percent wage replacement rate, because their income is too high. This threshold for enhanced wage replacement is unrealistically low and does not accurately reflect the cost of living in California. Adding increased urgency, if the Legislature and Governor take no action this year, current wage replacement rates will sunset and the wage replacement rate for all workers using SDI and PFL would drop to 55 percent.
Californians must be able to heal, care for family, or welcome a new child, regardless of their income. A 90 percent wage replacement rate would ensure that lower-wage workers, many of whom already struggle to support their families with their full wages, have the same ability to care for themselves and be there for their families as other workers without risking their economic stability.
California led the way by passing the first comprehensive paid family leave law in the United States, but we have since fallen behind other states who have higher wage replacement rates.⁴ It is time for us to lead once again by making our paid family leave program the most equitable in the nation - the ability to heal, bond with a child, or care for an ill family should not be limited to those with middle or high incomes.
Sincerely,
A Better Balance
ACCESS Reproductive Justice
ACLU California Action
Alliance for a Better Community
American Association of University Women California
American Medical Womens' Association
Association of California Caregiver Resource Centers
Bet Tzedek Legal Services
BreastfeedLA
Buen Vecino
California Association of Food Banks
California Breastfeeding Coalition
California Catholic Conference
California Child Care Resource & Referral Network
California Employment Lawyers Association
California Health Professional Student Alliance
California Immigrant Policy Center
California Labor Federation
California Latinas for Reproductive Justice
California Nurse-Midwives Association
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
California Physicians Alliance
California WIC Association
California Women's Law Center
California Work & Family Coalition
Campbell High School Teachers Association
Caring Across Generations
Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice
Center for Workers' Rights
Central Coast Early Childhood Advocacy Network
Centro Legal de la Raza
Children Now
Children's Defense Fund-California
Chinese Progressive Association
Citizens for Choice
Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations
Coalition Of Union Labor Women, Sacramento Capital Chapter
COLAGE
Electric Universe
Equal Rights Advocates
Evolve California
Families In Transition of Santa Cruz County, Inc.
Family Caregiver Alliance
Family Values @ Work
Feminist Majority Foundation
First 5 Association of CA
First 5 California
First 5 Humboldt
First 5 LA
First 5 Monterey County
First 5 San Mateo County
First 5 Sonoma County
First 5 Ventura County
Food Empowerment Project
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
GRACE – End Child Poverty
Girls Republic
Global Communities, Healthy Start
Hand in Hand: the Domestic Employers Network
Healthy Kids Happy Faces
Human Impact Partners
Inland Empire Breastfeeding Coalition
Inland Equity Partnership
Jewish Center for Justice
Justice At Last
LA Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE)
La Raza Centro Legal
LA Best Babies Network
Legal Aid at Work
Maternal and Child Health Access
Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project
Mother’s Own Milk Matters
NARAL Pro-Choice California
National Association of Social Workers, California
Chapter National Council of Jewish Women California
National Council of Jewish Women Los Angeles
National Employment Law Project
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Women's Political Caucus of California
Nevada County Citizens for Choice
North Bay Labor Council
Nourish California
Nursing Mothers Council
Orange County Equality Coalition
Our Family Coalition
Parent Voices California
PICO California
Pilipino Workers Center
Positive Discipline Community Resources
Prevention Institute
Public Counsel
Public Health Alliance of Southern California
Rape Counseling Services of Fresno
Restaurant Opportunities Centers of California
San Diego County Breastfeeding Coalition
San Francisco Senior and Disability Action
Santa Clara County Wage Theft Coalition
SEIU California
Small Business Majority
Southern California Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (SoCalCOSH)
Street Level Health Project
TechEquity Collaborative
Thai Community Development Center
UFCW Western States Council
UNITE-LA
United Ways of California
Walnut Avenue Family & Women's Center
Warehouse Worker Resource Center
Watsonville Law Center
Women For: Orange County
Working Partnerships USA
Worksafe
YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley
¹ These changes are also laid out in Senator Durazo’s SB 951.
² Source: Budget Center analysis of US Census Bureau, Current Population Survey public-use microdata analyzed online from IPUMS CPS (University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org)
³ https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/low-wage-work-in-california-data-explorer/
⁴ https://calbudgetcenter.org/app/uploads/2022/02/DH-FP-Paid-Family-Leave.pdf
