OCTOBER 2, 2026
You may have seen California in the news recently for having the lowest maternal mortality rate in the country, plus an extended Medi-Cal postpartum window and a new state maternal mental health task force. Good news at the state level, and worth knowing. But none of it changes what you're required to do as an employer.
Here's what still sits with you:
- CFRA/FMLA job protection: unchanged. Employees returning from pregnancy-related leave are still entitled to reinstatement.
- State Disability Insurance (SDI) and Paid Family Leave (PFL): these are the two programs that intersect with postpartum care for your employees. Worth a quick refresher with your team on how they stack with any internal leave policy you offer.
- Medi-Cal: this is a state safety-net program, not something that touches your plan or your payroll deductions. It matters to employees who qualify, but it's not an HR action item.
If it's been a while since you looked at your leave policy alongside SDI/PFL, this is a good time to do it — not because anything changed, but because it's an easy thing to let go stale.
