California has passed Assembly Bill (AB) 2054, which expands the definition of “covered active duty” under Section 3302.1 of the Unemployment Insurance Code for purposes of eligibility for Paid Family Leave (PFL) benefits from the state.

Under existing law, “covered active duty” includes deployment of a member of the regular Armed Forces of the United States to a foreign country and deployment of reserve components to a foreign country under a federal call or order.

Under the amendment, “covered active duty” means:

• deployment other than to a foreign country;
• with respect to a member of the regular Armed Forces of the United States, duty during the deployment or training of the member with the regular Armed Forces; and
• with respect to a member of the reserve components of the Armed Forces of the United States, including the National Guard, duty during training or a call or order to federal or state active duty.

However, implementation of the amendments will not take place until the changes can be incorporated into the EDD’s claims management system or on July 1, 2028, whichever occurs first.