State Disability Insurance (SDI)

What is SDI?

SDI is an insurance program for people who work in the state of California, paid for by payroll contributions.

SDI includes Disability Insurance (DI) and Paid Family Leave (PFL).

Disability Insurance (SDI-DI) provides partial wage replacement for state employees during periods of non-work related disability, illness, or injury (including disability due to pregnancy or childbirth); and
Paid Family Leave (SDI-PFL) provides partial wage replacement benefits, for up to 8 weeks in any 12-month period, to care for seriously ill or injured family member (child, spouse, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or domestic partner), to bond with new child, or to participate in a qualifying exigency leave.

Due to recent legislation, SDI-PFL and SDI-DI benefits increased for claims starting in 2025:

90% of regular income for low to middle-income workers (up from 60-70%), benefiting those earning up to approximately $60,000 annually.
Higher wage workers will receive 70% of their normal weekly income up to a maximum of $1,681.

The Employment Development Department (EDD) of California defines low to middle income workers and those who earn $2,890 to $62,025.60 annually. Workers earning greater than $62,025.64 are considered higher wage workers. Potential benefits are calculated by the highest reported quarterly earnings. You can calculate potential benefits using this calculator.

Why is CAPS-UAW transitioning to SDI?

A membership vote in 2022 decided a bargaining priority that our CAPS-UAW contract replace the outdated Non-Industrial Disability Insurance (NDI) program with the enhanced benefits available in the SDI program. You, CAPS-UAW members, fought hard to win these increased benefits in the 2024-2027 CAPS-UAW Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

When do SDI benefits begin?

Effective July 1, 2025, rank-and-file employees represented by CAPS-UAW will be eligible for SDI benefits.

This means that beginning July 1, 2025, rank-and-file CAPS, UAW Local 1115 members with a non-work related disability will be eligible to file a claim under SDI. Employees will start making contributions (1.2% of salary for 2025) to SDI from our paycheck for the December 2024 pay period (issued January 2, 2025).

There will be a transition period from January 1, 2025 to June 30, 2025 while converting rank-and-file CAPS-UAW employees from NDI/ENDI to SDI. During the transition period, rank-and-file CAPS-UAW employees will continue to be covered under NDI/ENDI, which allows these deductions to build your SDI account.

Effective July 1, 2025, rank-and-file CAPS-UAW members will no longer be eligible for NDI/ENDI and will be eligible for SDI.

Unlike NDI/ENDI, you can access SDI under any leave type. Between July 1, 2025, to September 30, 2025, you may elect to switch between Annual Leave or Vacation/Sick Leave, even if you’ve switched previously in the past 24 months.

What happens to health insurance during an SDI claim?

According to Section 3.24.C.2 of our MOU, “The State will pay the full premiums for an employee and any applicable dependent coverage for health, dental and vision for the length of the employee’s disability up to a maximum of twenty-six (26) weeks and for PFL up to a maximum of eight (8) weeks.”

The state is also obligated to pay its share of your health benefits for qualifying employees under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for up to 12 weeks.

Understanding the new State Disability Insurance, and the Non-Industrial Disability Insurance Programs

	SDI	NDI	ENDI
Purpose	Provide income replacement for people with non-work related injuries, increase payments above NDI levels, enable people to be eligible for PFL	Provide income replacement for people with non-work related injuries	Provide income replacement for people with non-work related injuries. Initially used as means of enticing people into Annual Leave.
Amount of Benefit	Receive 70-90% of highest quarterly earnings up to $1,681 per week for 52 weeks.	Receive 60% of gross salary, but not to exceed $135 per week.	Receive 50% of salary up to 26 weeks. Must participate in Annual Leave to be eligible.
Taxability	SDI benefits are considered nontaxable income. PFL is subject to federal taxes.	Taxable.	Taxable.
Cost	1.2% contribution of salary starting the January 2, 2025 pay warrant.	Employer paid.	Being enrolled in Annual Leave costs 4 hours of sick leave per month, or 48 hours annually, equal to 2.3% of salary.
Paid Family Leave	The SDI Paid Family Leave (SDI-PFL) program provides any employee partial wage replacement for up to 8 weeks in any 12-month period.	None. NDI is limited to personal disability.	None. ENDI is limited to personal disability.
Leave Supplementation	Yes, up to 100% wage replacement.	None.	Yes, up to 100% wage replacement. Supplementation level, once chosen, must be maintained throughout duration of disability.
Leave Supplementation Logistics	Employees can use certain accrued leave balances (Vacation, Annual Leave, CTO, Holiday Credit, Personal Leave (PLP), or Sick Leave) to supplement income when out on SDI.	May use Vacation, Sick Leave, Annual Leave, or Personal Leave before receiving NDI payments, or following the start of NDI payments; If switch from NDI to leave credits following the start of NDI, must exhaust all credits before switching back to NDI.	Must participate in Annual Leave to be eligible. Disability payments may be supplemented with Annual Leave or Sick Leave. May use Sick Leave or Annual Leave before receiving ENDI payments, or following the start of ENDI payments; If switch from ENDI to leave credits following the start of ENDI, then must exhaust all credits before switching back to ENDI.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What will happen to the employees who are in the Annual Leave program when SDI is implemented?

A: Employees who are currently in the Annual Leave program will continue in the Annual Leave program and will continue to accrue Annual Leave credits. SDI will only replace the Non-Industrial Disability Insurance (NDI) benefits portion of the Annual Leave Program.

Q: Employees who have signed up for Annual Leave are required to stay in the program for 24 months. Will there be a special “open enrollment” to opt out of Annual Leave?

A: The CAPS-UAW Contract provides a three-month window (July-September 2025) following the transition period (ending July 1, 2025) which would allow employees to switch between Annual Leave and Vacation/Sick Leave.

Q: What impact will SDI have on employees who are out on a qualifying NDI leave at the time SDI withholding begins? Will their NDI benefits continue?

A: NDI payments would end June 30 and the employee would file for SDI for the remainder of the event. There is no automatic conversion. State employees would have to serve a 7-day non-payable waiting period on SDI.

Q: Can an employee use accrued leave credits to supplement SDI benefits?

A: Yes, according to Section 3.24 of the CAPS-UAW Contract, under SDI an employee can supplement SDI, up to 40 hours per month, using the following accrued leave credits: Vacation, Annual Leave, CTO, Holiday Credit, Personal Leave (PLP), or Sick Leave.

Interaction among FMLA, Paid Family Leave (PFL), and SDI

Q: If I am pregnant do I qualify for SDI, FMLA, or PFL?

A: As long as your medical doctor verifies that you are too disabled to work you will be eligible to apply for SDI benefits. Once you have given birth, you would then be eligible for PFL. If you are pregnant, you also have the option to apply for FMLA to protect your job while on SDI or PFL.

Q: If a family member is seriously ill or injured, which program would I use?

A: Paid Family Leave.

Q: If I am out on leave under SDI-PFL, can I then switch to SDI-DI?

A: If you are on leave under SDI-PFL and then become disabled, you can file for SDI-DI.

Q: Currently the employer pays its share of my health insurance under FMLA. Does the employer pay my health insurance under SDI-DI or SDI-PFL?

A: Yes, the State will pay its share of the health insurance up to a maximum of twenty-six (26) weeks when on SDI-DI and up to a maximum of 8 weeks when on SDI-PFL.

State Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave

Q: What is SDI?

A: SDI is a program that compensates workers who suffer a wage loss when they can’t work because of a non-work related illness or injury.

Q: What is the relationship of PFL insurance to SDI?

A: PFL insurance is a component of the SDI program. SDI-DI compensates workers suffering a wage loss due to their own illness or injury. The SDI-PFL benefit compensates workers suffering a wage loss when they must take time off to care for a seriously ill or injured family member or to bond with a new child.

Q: Now that the state has agreed to implement the SDI program for state employees in Bargaining Unit 10, when does the program begin?

A: State scientists will start making contributions to the SDI program on our paychecks for the December 2024 pay period (issued January 2, 2025). The contribution rate is 1.2 percent of salary.

Q: How soon after that can we claim benefits?

A: You must pay into the program for six months before you qualify for benefits. State scientists will qualify to start using SDI benefits on July 1, 2025.

Q: How much does SDI and PFL insurance pay?

A: Your weekly benefit amount is approximately 70-90 percent of your earnings with a weekly cap of $1,681 (effective July 2025). You may be eligible for up to 52 weeks of full SDI-DI benefits and up to 8 weeks for SDI-PFL benefits.

Q: How is my benefit determined?

A: EDD calculates your benefit using a base period of 12 months. Looking back six to 18 months before the disability claim is filed, it determines your highest quarterly earnings in that 12-month period and calculates your benefit from this number. (For example, a claim beginning July 1, 2025 uses a base period of April 1, 2024 through March 31, 2025.) You can calculate your potential benefits using this calculator.

Q: Will our Non-Industrial Disability Insurance (NDI) cover us until July 2025?

A: Yes, NDI and Enhanced NDI coverage will continue until BU 10 employees are eligible to collect SDI benefits.