On October 13, 2025, California enacted SB 590, which allows eligible employees to take paid family leave to care for a “designated person,” which is defined as any individual related by blood or whose association with the employee is equivalent to a family relationship.
Under existing law, employers with at least one employee in California who earns $300 or more in wages in a 12-month period are subject to the state disability insurance program, which is the umbrella program that includes both disability insurance and paid family leave. The new law would require an individual who requests family temporary disability insurance benefits to care for a designated person to identify the designated person and, under penalty of perjury, attest to how the individual is related by blood to the designated person or how the individual’s association with the designated person is the equivalent of a family relationship. The new law will take effect beginning July 1, 2028.
Employers with employees in CA should ensure that their PFL policies and communication materials reflect these new changes by the bill’s effective date.
Read the full bill here: SB 590: PFL for Designated Persons