California’s Paid Family Leave (PFL) program, which is administered by the Employment Development Department (EDD) provides eligible employees with up to 8 weeks of wage replacement benefits when an employee is off work for certain qualifying reasons.

Businesses with employees using PFL may have increased costs such as cross-training existing staff and hiring and training new and/or temporary employees to cover for employees on leave. This may be particularly true for small employers. To assist with these issues, the California Employment Training Panel and California Labor and Workforce Development Agency funded a grant program for small employers.

Small businesses in California with 1 to 100 employees who have at least one employee utilizing PFL on or after June 1, 2022, may be eligible. Also, to be eligible for the grant, businesses must:

• Be registered to do business in the State of California

• Be in an active status with the California Secretary of State’s Office

• Have an active California Employer Account Number under which employees are listed for payroll.

Small businesses using a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) for payroll services are not eligible for the grant.

Employers interested in applying for the grant can apply through the grant website: Californiapfl.com.